Surprise for a Princess

Aiden Thomas is a New York Times bestselling author celebrated for writing heartfelt, genre-blending young adult fantasy that centers queer and Latinx characters. Their debut novel, Cemetery Boys, became a New York Times bestseller, was a finalist for the Lodestar Award, and was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.They have since authored multiple bestsellers, including Lost in the Never Woods, The Sunbearer Trials, and its sequel Celestial Monsters. Aiden is a passionate advocate for trans and Latinx representation in literature, and has taught with organizations such as Tin House and Lambda Literary. Their work is widely praised for its joyful defiance, immersive worldbuilding, and celebration of chosen family. Aiden holds an MFA in Creative Writing and lives in Portland, Oregon

Jennifer Liberts Weinberg has written numerous books for young readers, mainly for Random House Children’s Books behind several licensed properties, including Disney and Barbie, as well as several Step into Reading titles. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Elisa Marrucchi is a children’s book illustrator from Italy.  After graduating from the European College of Design in 1992, she attended Accademia Disney in Milan. She currently works with Disney, as well as several book and magazine publishers, as an illustrator. Her works include Battle in Space!, Beautiful Brides, and The Beauty of Nature. 

Peter Emslie is a professional cartoonist and the illustrator of Beauties in Bloom (Disney Princess series); Don’t Go Bump in the Night!: A Halloween Safety Book; Dumbo: My First Disney Story; and many other books. Since 1994, illustrating children’s books has been Peter’s preferred way of working and to date, he has illustrated about 40 books for Disney and its licensees. He was born in Ottawa.