Jem Vanston was born in Dartford, Kent, to a Welsh mother and a Flemish father. His Welsh family includes his great uncles, who wrote the national anthem of Wales. Previously a teacher and journalist, he is now an award-winning author and has published ten books, including three satirical novels, cat stories, children’s books, the illustrated Christmas poem Santa Goes on Strike, and The Loved Ones: A Collection of Pandemic Poems About Love and Love. His latest book is The Nine Lives of Summer, a cat novel for both children and adults, with two chapters set in Wales. His Poem of the Plague Year is in the National Library of Wales Covid Collection. He now lives in Swansea.