Jo was born in Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. Even though she lived by the sea, she wasn’t a huge fan of sand. She still lives nearby with her husband, two daughters, and Ziggy Stardust the pug. A children’s illustrator all of her professional life, Jo is self-taught and works digitally. She has been a member of SCBWI since 2014. Although Jo has illustrated over forty children’s books to date, she is very proud of the fact that Bea by the Sea is her first authored book.
Jo Byatt studied design at Southend Art College, where everything she drew had a smiley face! She has worked for the BBC, Redan and Egmont amongst others and her illustrations have appeared in over 18 children's books. She has illustrated Busy Railway and Busy Beach for Campbell, part of the Busy Books series.