Shaun Tan. He was born in 1974 and grew up in a residential neighborhood north of Perth, Western Australia. He was known at school as "the one who drew well" which partly made up for the fact that he was always the last in the class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with honors ex aequo in Fine Arts and English Literature and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne.

He began making illustrations for science fiction stories published in small publishing houses during his adolescence and since then he has become famous for making picture books that address social, political and historical issues through dream images. His works have been translated into many languages ​​and have delighted readers of all ages.

Shaun has also worked as a set designer and conceptual artist for animation works; he also directed the Oscar-winning short film in which he adapted The Lost Thing. In 2011 he received the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden in recognition of his work.