Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist. Treasure Island was his first major success, and his subsequent books include Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped.

H. G. Wells (1866–1946) was an English writer well known for his science fiction. His oeuvre includes novels such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, as well as short stories and nonfiction works of social commentary, history, satire, and biography.
 
Jules Verne (1828–1905) was a French novelist, playwright, and poet. Besides Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, his popular books about adventure and scientific advancement include Journey to the Center of the Earth and Around the World in Eighty Days.

Jim Tierney grew up in the rural farmlands of southeastern Pennsylvania. He studied illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he met his wife and frequent collaborator Sara Wood. They spent a decade designing book covers in New York before leaving the city to build a studio in the attic of Jim's childhood home, where they currently work and live with their family.