Alan Snow is a prolific English author and illustrator, celebrated for his intricate visual storytelling. After studying at Salisbury College of Art, he illustrated over 160 books and contributed to animation and video game design. He is most famous for the Ratbridge Chronicles, particularly the 2005 novel Here Be Monsters!. This richly illustrated work, set in a fantastical Victorian world, inspired the 2014 Academy Award-nominated stop-motion film The Boxtrolls.