Nathanael Lessore was born in Camberwell, South East London, as one of eight children to French and Madagascan parents. Although he has spent most of his life in Peckham, Nathanael has also lived in Paris, Strasbourg and Singapore. His debut book Steady For This was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024 and won the Branford Boase Award 2024. His second book King of Nothing won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Readers 2025 and was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2025. He is also the author of What Happens Online, and writes stories that show his South East London childhood as the funny, warm, adventurous world that wasn't always represented as such.