Viviane Schwarz was born in Germany and liked books so much as a child that she ate them. When she discovered that others were manufacturing them, she decided to try making her own. She earned her MA at Illustration in Falmouth, Cornwall, before moving to London, where she now resides. She has been nominated for and received numerous prizes, the most recent of which was the 2011 Booktrust Best New Illustrator Award. Her book There Are Cats in This Book was a finalist for the 2010 Cilip Greenaway Award for Best Illustrated Book, and it also won the popular 'Shadowing' category, which is decided by children.