Stephen Aitken is a biologist, artist and author. Despite an early brush with nyctophobia (fear of the dark), he became fascinated with bioluminescence while researching a book he wrote on the dangers of light pollution. He has written and illustrated many picture books, chapter books and close to a dozen nonfiction books for middle-grade readers, and he is the author of Saving the Night and Listen Up! in the Orca Footprints series. Stephen is the cofounder and executive secretary of Biodiversity Conservancy International and is the editorial director of the science journal Biodiversity.