Willy Wanggen is an author and illustrator based in the Northern Vosges, a protected area of woodland, wetland, farmland, and historical sites in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. He studied philosophy and Asian languages in Paris before working in China in the fields of arts, culture, and publishing. Upon returning from abroad, he decided to fulfill a long-delayed goal: to become a storyteller through text and images. Fjord is his first book.