Margery Williams was born in London in 1881. She moved with her family to the US in 1890 and there started a career as a writer at the age of nineteen. She wrote many stories for children, of which 'The Velveteen Rabbit' is the most famous.

William Nicholson was for many years a television producer, making documentary films. This led to writing television plays (Shadowlands, Life Story, Sweet as You Are, The March), and then stage plays (Shadowlands, Map of the Heart, Katherine Howard, The Retreat from Moscow) and films (Shadowlands, Sarafina, Nell, First Knight, Gladiator). He is married with three children.