Brian Selznick is an American illustrator and writer best known as the writer of The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), Wonderstruck (2011), The Marvels (2015), and Kaleidoscope (2021). He won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration recognizing The Invention of Hugo Cabret. He is also renowned for illustrating children's books, such as the covers of Scholastic's 20th-anniversary editions of the Harry Potter series.

Selznick was born in 1966 in New Jersey. He has a sister who is a teacher, a brother who is a brain surgeon, and five nephews and one niece. He studied at The Rhode Island School of Design and after graduation, worked at Eeyore’s Books for Children in New York City, where he learned about children’s books under Steve Geck, now an editor at Greenwillow.

While at Eeyore’s, Selznick also painted windows for holidays and book events. His first book, The Houdini Box, which he both wrote and illustrated, was published in 1991 while he was still working at the bookstore.