Authors & Illustrators
Here are some authors and illustrators of Starfish Bay books.
Chlöe Applin
Author-illustrator of Mole on Patrol
Chlöe Applin has a BA in Visual Studies from Norwich University of the Arts and an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She enjoys creating characters and the worlds they live in and takes inspiration from nature and animals. Chloe lives in Cambridge, UK, and when she’s not drawing, she can be found making toys and puppets from recycled fabrics. Her toys have recently been featured on the BBC.
Petzold, Dave
Author of Seven Seas of Fleas
Australian children’s book author and illustrator Dave Petzold is interested in the little things that go unnoticed, the things we take for granted. “My stories are born out of a love of nature, adventure, and a desire to show that, if you look a little closer, there is more to life than what you see on the surface,” he says. His writing invites the reader on a journey of discovery in the hope they will discover something about themselves, too. Graphite pencil, screen-printing techniques, and digital collage are used in creating his illustrations.
Keaveney, Dolores
Author of Dee the Bee
Dolores Keaveney is a children’s book author and illustrator currently residing in Ireland. Dolores has been painting for the better part of 40 years and has had many exhibitions. She enjoys illustrating and creating children’s stories, having written and illustrated 12 children’s picture books. Her art is vibrant, colourful, loose and uplifting. She draws her inspiration from her garden in summertime when it is packed full of beautiful flowers.
Byron, Victoria
Author of Tamlin’s Great Adventure
Victoria Byron lives in the UK with her husband and two children. She was an art teacher before obtaining an MA in Children’s Book Illustration and becoming a full-time illustrator. One of Victoria’s earliest memories is looking up into an old apple tree and seeing a face on the markings of a tiny apple. The rest of her childhood was spent outdoors inventing characters from snails, leaves and acorns, which has helped her create children’s stories. Victoria recently had a solo exhibition at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter, promoting her first children’s picture book Alfie’s Night Out.
Huang, Arwen
Author of Have You Seen Mr. Robinson?
Arwen Huang was born in Taichung, Taiwan. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Taipei National University of Arts. She decided to become an illustrator after studying a Masters in Illustration in the UK. Arwen enjoys drawing people, children, and animals, as well as telling stories. She usually draws by hand and then edits her illustrations digitally. In 2018, her comic BORED was nominated for the Prize for Young Talents at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
Beech, Hannah
Author of Arturo
Hannah Beech is an illustrator and designer based in Cornwall, UK. She studied illustration at Bath Spa University and later completed her MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, UK. Since graduating, Hannah has illustrated for a huge variety of print projects aimed at children, young people and adults, including books, mental health awareness campaigns (one featuring a guinea pig called Denzel!) and her own range of illustrations of Cornwall. She’s designed characters and patterns for kids’ clothing and grown-up textiles, and dabbled in a little bit of toy design too. Hannah also works as a graphic designer and creates her own handmade screen-prints. When she’s not busy colouring in, you’ll probably findher walking on the cliff tops, eating ice cream or planning her next adventure over the sea and far away…
Turner, Richard
Author of The Wildlife Winter Games, The Wildlife Summer Games and Whose Nose Do You Suppose
Richard Turner is a Performing Arts teacher, who supports children’s creative voices through drama and dance. He has directed and choreographed musicals, working with students who can sing and dance way better than he can. Like most children, Richard has to be told to eat his peas, but never has to be told to eat his jellybeans or ice cream. He has been on a skateboard, a rollercoaster, an elephant and a camel. He has also been on a spaceship to the moon, but only in his dreams!
Birch, Josephine
Author-illustrator of Selkie
Josephine Birch studied a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art and on the ‘Drawing Year’ scholarship at The Royal Drawing School, London. Her Master of Arts in Children’s Book Illustration was obtained from the Cambridge School of Art. Josephine grew up in the South West of England, in a tiny terraced house with a garden. The garden was full of flowers, vegetables, and home to chickens, two tortoises, a naughty dog and an old bath full of goldfish and lilies. Her mother, a dress maker and teacher, and her older sister, a painter, made the house a colourful and creative place to live. Josephine always knew she wanted to work as an artist and with animals. Through her studies, Josephine discovered that she could combine the two by illustrating stories inspired by the natural world and her favourite animals.
Buckley, Celina
Author-illustrator of The Salmon of Knowledge
Celina Buckley grew up on a farm in the middle of the countryside in County Cork, Ireland. She earned her Bachelor of Education (Hons) from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, in 2011. For the following four years, she enjoyed working as a primary school teacher and reading many children’s books with the children of St. Joseph’s Primary School, Macroom, County Cork. She then decided to take a break from primary school teaching to pursue her life-long passion for drawing and children’s literature and embarked upon the Masters in Children’s Books Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Celina loves using collage and playing with color and pattern when creating her artwork, and she is always looking forward to the exciting projects the future may bring.
Cai, Yijun
Author-illustrator of Brown Bear Can’t Sleep
Yijun Cai, from Hangzhou, China, is a freelance illustrator and recipient of the Golden Dragon Award at the Original Animation & Comic Competition.
Casella, Laura
Author-illustrator of The Croc Who Rocked
Laura Casella obtained a BA in Illustration from the Institute of European Design. In 1995, her nonfiction project Middle Ages was selected at the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna. She has recently graduated from Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge with a MA in Children’s Book Illustration.
Durham, Ali
Author-illustrator of Wacko!
Ali Durham is an author/illustrator and qualified art and early childhood teacher. Her passion for children’s books has taken her to faraway places, including London and Italy, where she studied children’s book illustration. Ali loves spending time with her two children, bush walking, reading, playing in a band, and creating books in her messy studio in the Adelaide Hills.
Hay, Gay
Author of Watch Out, Snail!, Go, Green Gecko! and Fantail’s Quilt
Gay Hay is a New Zealand environmental enthusiast. Over the many years of her primary school teaching she has helped children plant and nurture thousands of native trees. She has been involved in many environmental initiatives on the Kapiti Coast and is currently leading the lizard investigation as part of the Kapiti Biodiversity Project.
McKinnon, Natalie
Author of Seed Magic and Bizz Buzz Boss
Natalie McKinnon is an early childhood educator with over twenty years’ teaching experience in Australia. Natalie also presents environmental workshops for pre-school and elementary audiences. Her workshops encourage children to understand where real food comes from and to develop an understanding of the relationship between their health and the environment.
Muià, Federica
Author-illustrator of I Need a Plan! and Mine
Federica Muià is an illustrator from the small village of Ivrea in Northern Italy. She studied archaeology and anthropology at the University of Turin, where she participated in various research excavations. Federica has always been curious about everyone and everything. She moved to Cambridge in 2014 to follow her dream of becoming an illustrator and and she completed her MA in children’s book illustration in 2017. Travelling, drawing, and animals are her passions, which she combines into her stories.
Quarry, Rachel
Author-illustrator of Colin the Chameleon
Rachel Quarry is an illustrator and artist based in the United Kingdom. She studied at Cambridge University and the Cambridge School of Art. In her illustration work she uses ink, monoprint and collage. For inspiration she likes to travel and visit parks and gardens.
Robbins, Rose
Author-illustrator of Elena’s Shells
Rose Robbins is a children’s book author and illustrator currently residing in Nottingham, United Kingdom. She has been making books since the age of 6 when she received a stapler for her birthday. As well as books, Rose makes ceramics, puppets, felt and soft toys. She can be found either stuck in a story, or thinking about a new story – anything to get out of doing the dishes or putting out the laundry.
Tolland, Margaret
Illustrator of Seed Magic, Bizz Buzz Boss, Watch Out, Snail! and Go, Green Gecko!.
Margaret Tolland is an artist from New Zealand, whose illustrations are packed with detail. Through her work, get closer to the habitats and lifestyles of the many species, both flora and fauna, that she explores with an eye on environmental education. With twenty years’ experience in visual arts education and working in a gallery, Margaret now illustrates full-time. Although she had a fear of spiders, after painting them in detail, she now appreciates how amazing they are.
Walker, Coral
Author-illustrator of Little Boy George Wants to Be a Bird
Coral Walker, who now resides in a picturesque village near the River Taff in Cardiff, Wales, was raised in southern China. Writing and drawing have been two constant loves in her life. For many years, she juggled being a mother, a full-time academic teaching computer science, and an artist. She first ventured into children’s illustration to keep her own children entertained. Once she started, she couldn’t stop. Throughout the years, she has tried various mediums, including watercolour, acrylic and oil painting.
Xing, Zhiwei
Author-illustrator of Footprints in the Clouds
Zhiwei Xing graduated from the Xiamen University of Technology specialising in animation. He came to love illustrating, especially children’s picture books, during his exchange program to the Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. Having grown up playing in the forest and catching fish in the river each summer, as an adult he still appreciates everything related to nature.
Yang, Yuanhao
Author-illustrator of The Flying Light
Yuanhao Yang graduated from the Department of Illustration at Nanjing University of the Arts and now resides in Nanjing, China, where he illustrates children’s books. It is his belief that everyone views the world differently, and he enjoys transforming these worlds into interesting forms using pen and paper. Yuanhao Yang likes drawing elves, as well as his dog.