Graham Salisbury grew up in the Hawaiian Islands, where his family has lived since 1820. He graduated from California State University and received an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he was a member of the founding faculty of the MFA program in writing for children. He is the author of twenty multiple-award-winning books, including The Hunt for the Bamboo Rat, Under the Blood-Red Sun, House of the Red Fish, Blue Skin of the Sea, Lord of the Deep, Night of the Howling Dogs, Eyes of the Emperor, and the Calvin Coconut series for younger readers. He lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon.