William Durbin is a writer and former teacher who lives on Lake Vermilion at the edge of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. A winner of the Great Lakes Book Award and a two-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award, he has published eleven novels for young readers, including The Broken Blade , Wintering , and, also published by Minnesota, Song of Sampo Lake , Blackwater Ben , and The Darkest Evening .
Barbara Durbin is a lifelong educator who has worked as an elementary school teacher and a teacher of gifted and talented programs.