Axl the Axolotl Is Not a Frog

Oscar and multi-Grammy, Tony, and Emmy winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are songwriters and producers best known for the films La La Land and The Greatest Showman and the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. In 2024, they achieved EGOT status when they won an Emmy for Only Murders in the Building. Their screen credits include Trolls; Spirited; Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; the live-action Aladdin and Snow White; Pink: All I Know So Far; Harlem; Smash; The Flash; Dear Edward; Welcome to Wrexham; and Sesame Street. For theater, they are the composers of Dogfight, A Christmas Story, James and the Giant Peach, the song cycle Edges, and co-producers of Pulitzer Prize winner A Strange Loop. Among countless honors, they won the Olivier Award and the ASCAP Vanguard Award. They are co-authors of the New York Times bestseller Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel. You can visit Benj and Justin online at PasekAndPaul.com or on Instagram @PasekAndPaul. nJohn Paul Brammer is an author and illustrator from rural Oklahoma currently based in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of the popular advice column ¡Hola Papi!, as well as a memoir in essays of the same name, published in 2021 with Simon & Schuster's flagship imprint. He is the winner of the 2022 Brooklyn Public Library Prize for nonfiction, as well as the Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and more. His forthcoming illustrated young adult novel, Samara, is to be published with Farrar, Straus and Giroux. You can follow John Paul on Instagram @JPBrammer. n nVanessa Morales is a Mexican illustrator and character designer with a deep love for nature and all things whimsical. She is the illustrator of Diego Fuego the Firefighting Dragon by Allison and Rafael Rozo and Monster Baker written by Laura Lavoie. Vanessa also works in animation for companies including Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Kodansha VR Lab Japan. Vanessa was born and lives in the south of Mexico in Chiapas, and her artwork draws from the rich nature, culture, and legends of Mexico. You can visit Vanessa online at Phonemova.com or follow her on Instagram @Phonemova.n