Anil Tortop was born and raised in Turkey. She moved to Australia in early 2011 and has been trying to get used to the local eight-legged house intruders and slithering visitors to her garden ever since. Anil also works as an animator and character/concept designer, but has been called away from this affair as her relationship with children's books becomes more serious. Nowadays, she lives with her husband in Brisbane. In their small home studio together, they call themselves 'Children's Booksmiths'.