Authors and illustrators

Jem Maybank is an illustrator based in Leeds who loves Adobe Photoshop and works either in her studio or on her houseboat with her four birds. She likes working on educational books for young readers but anything with animals is always great!

Jen is an artist, designer, and animator. She attended University of the Arts, where she earned herself a fancy degree. She loves to illustrate children’s books and is currently living happily ever after in New Jersey with her husband and fluffy puppy, Daisy.

When she’s not in her East London studio, you can find Jenni Desmond cooking, cycling, and swapping city life for long hikes down by the sea shore or up in the hills and the mountains. Having graduated with a master’s degree in children’s book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art (UK), her debut picture book Red Cat Blue Cat won the Cambridgeshire Read it Again! Award in 2012. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages since, and in 2015 Jenni was named Best Emerging Talent (Illustrator) at the Junior Design Awards (UK). In 2016, she was made a Maurice Sendak Fellow and her book The Polar Bear became a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the year.

Jenny Arthur had a variety of creative jobs before becoming a children’s book illustrator. These included being a creator of window displays, a greetings card illustrator, a figurine painter and a pumpkin carver. When not painting, Jenny enjoys wildlife spotting, walking in green leafy places, crocheting and playing the ukelele whilst singing out of tune! Jenny has illustrate several titles for Caterpillar Books, including The Big Beach Boogie and The Jingle Bell Ball.

Jennica Lounsbury began illustrating picture books after spending the first bit of her career in animation. She loves folk art, dreamy ideas, and magical realism, and is passionate about colour and visual storytelling. She lives in Ontario, Canada, with her family, her garden and her very best cat Greta.