JAY HEALE

Jay Heale lives in Cape Town. After 26 years of teaching in independent, multiracial schools in England and South Africa, Jay concentrated on the research and review of children’s literature (especially in Africa). He was twice elected as President of the Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury (2000, 2002) and was the Organiser of the 29th International IBBY Congress held in Cape Town in 2004. Editor of Bookchat magazine for 21 years, he now manages www.bookchat.co.za In 2008 he was awarded Honorary Life Membership of IBBY South Africa. He has written many books for children, teachers, librarians and parents.

NANA AYEBIA CLARKE

Nana Ayebia is a Ghanaian-born publisher currently resident in the UK. She has a BA (Hons) and MSt in Women's Studies from the University of Oxford. She was Submissions Editor of the highly acclaimed Heinemann African and Caribbean Writers Series for 12 years where she published and promoted prominent writers and Nobel Prize winning authors. She founded Ayebia Clarke Publishing Limited with her husband David in 2003. In November 2009, Ayebia won the Precious Awards for Women of Colour’s “BEST CREATIVE BUSINESS” in London.

MUTHONI GARLAND

Muthoni Garland is a Kenyan writer and editor of adult and children's fiction. She is married to Wallace and they have four children, and live in Nairobi. Muthoni is the author of the novellas: Tracking the Scent of My Mother and Halfway Between Nairobi and Dundori. Her short stories have been published in various literary journals and anthologies. She is also one of the founders of Storymoja, a publishing company who are aggressively promoting a reading culture in East Africa through projects in schools, universities and beyond, with the aim of 'getting a book in every hand.'

BIBI BAKARE-YUSUF

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf is a publisher and co-founder of Cassava Republic Press, a publishing house based in Abuja, Nigeria. Cassava Republic is both a commercial and a social enterprise, driven by the dream to redevelop a reading and writing culture in Africa, as part of the bigger project of re-imagining Africa’s future and being part of an African cultural and intellectual renaissance. The influential international design magazine Monocle listed Cassava Republic as one of the top global brands to watch out for in 2009. Prior to setting up Cassava Republic, Bibi was an academic and has published many papers in prestigious refereed journals, and regularly presents papers at academic conferences. She sits on the editorial board of a number of influential journals and is a life-long and committed feminist.

CYNTHIA PON

Cynthia Pon is the director of Global Fund for Children Books. She is an award-winning writer and has experience working with educators and writers across the country and internationally. Cynthia grew up in Hong Kong and has a bachelor's degree from the University of Hong Kong. She later earned a master's degree and a doctoral degree in comparative literature from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She is the director of Global Fund for Children Books. Before joining the Global Fund for Children, she was on the editorial staff of Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Cynthia brings to the creation of books, a love of words, arts, and world cultures.

MESHACK ASARE