Calling the Whales

Costa Award-winning children’s author Jasbinder Bilan was born on a farm in the foothills of the Himalayas. Her mum told her she was born in the stables, much to the rest of her family’s delight. When Jasbinder was one and a half her family moved to Nottingham, England where she grew up. It was a big adjustment for them and they kept India alive by telling funny stories of their life on their farm with the grumpy camel and the mischievous monkey. In Jasbinder’s writing she creates magical and real worlds and tells gripping adventures inspired by her love of family and home, and of cities and wild places across the UK and India. Her debut children’s novel Asha And The Spirit Bird won the Times/Chicken House Prize, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, longlisted for the Jhalak Prize, shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize and won the Costa Children’s Book Award. Her second novel Tamarind And The Star Of Ishta was longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Prize and won the Indie Children's Book Award. India, Incredible India was shortlisted in the Younger Non-Fiction category of the inaugural The Week Junior Book Awards.

Paula Masterton is a Scottish actress from the Perthshire town of Blairgowrie. She is known for on screen roles such as Big Boys Don’t Cry and No Shade. A mezzo-soprano aficionado with a fluency in French, Paula has a wide range of accents at her disposal. She has narrated a range of titles, including Karen Swan’s The Stolen Hours, The Witching Hour by C.J. Cooke, Broken Ghosts by J.D. Oswald and Beth Moran’s Because You Loved Me.