Since joining Usborne, Minna has written books on everything from pirates and gladiators to jungles and oceans. She studied Maths and Philosophy at university and previously worked as a journalist and illustrator in London, Bogota and New York. In her spare time, she loves writing stories, drawing and playing the guitar. Rachel spent 11 years studying and teaching philosophy at the universities of London and Oxford before joining Usborne. Since then she has written books on subjects ranging from knights, to food, to philosophy, as well as retelling folk stories, and writing children's versions of numerous novels. Darran spent a decade as children's bookseller in Durham. He studied crime scene and forensic science at university. It's handier than you'd expect. He collects useless facts, and writes about lots of subjects - especially science. He is passionate about stories, music, and will talk about octopuses at great length.