Mikel Valverde was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz and graduated in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country, specialising in Graphic Techniques. His work as an illustrator of Children's and YA Literature began when he created the illustrations for the book Shola y los Leones [Shola and the Lions]. Since then he has not stopped. He has been published by numerous Spanish publishers in the sector, and is particularly notable for his work on various series with renowned authors such as Bernardo Atxaga and Luisa Villar Liébana. In 2005 he was awarded the SM Foundation International Illustration Prize for the book Paula en Nueva York [Paula in New York], of which he was also the author. In 2017 he received the Euskadi Prize for Literature in the category of illustration of literary works with VERSOS DE DEPORTES [Sports Verses] (SM). He currently combines his work as an illustrator and author in the field of children's and YA literature.