Saira Mir is a physician and author of the award-winning picture book Muslim Girls Rise, which she wrote for her daughter and other children to have Muslim feminist role models. As an OB-GYN, she has cared for many families through pregnancy loss, but could not find the book she needed to help support her daughter through grief over her own family’s loss, which inspired her to write Always Sisters. She lives in the DC area with her kids and is always on the hunt for the next best playground and bubble tea.

Shahrzad Maydani is an illustrator and storyteller based in Maui, Hawaii, where she lives with her family. She was raised in Africa by an Iranian mother and an English father, and she spent her childhood collecting and telling stories. Shahrzad is the illustrator of the picture books Poetree by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds, Always Sisters by Saira Mir, and Sourgrass by Hope Lim.