Illustrator Bios
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Hatem is an Egyptian-born illustrator whose work has been featured on television and in multiple publications worldwide. He currently lives in New Brunswick, Canada, with his wife, son, and more pets than people. When not dealing with dogs barking and blank pieces of paper waiting to be filled, he draws, a lot. One of the books he drew is The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz which won awards despite illustrations of a farting dragon, a 2 headed cat and stinky cheese.
Other books he illustrated are: Taksheera (Words by: Naseeba Alozeibi), and The Giant Egg (by: Thuraya Khaled). His next book comes out in March 2021.
Twitter: @metahatem Facebook: @metahatem Instagram: metahatem
DJ Corchin
He loves to connect people through humorous stories about communication, kindness, and social-emotional awareness. His books are known for being fun and thoughtful discussion starters for both kids and adults in this crazy, complex, human world.
DJ Corchin is the author and illustrator of many award-winning children's books. He visits groups and schools all over the country discussing his stories and how people can find a path through their own creative universe.
Picture Book Spotlight Interview
Twitter: @djcorchin Facebook: @djcorchinauthor Instagram: dj_writes
Cori Doerrfeld grew up wanting a career in animation but couldn’t be happier with her current job as an author/illustrator. She has worked with both local and national publishers on everything from baby board books to graphic novels. Some of her picture book titles include Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend!, The True Adventures of Esther the Wonder Pig, Good Dog, Wild Baby and the award winning The Rabbit Listened. Some of Cori’s favorite things are animals, old tin lunch boxes, nachos, and long, long walks. She lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband, two kids, and rescue dog, Rufus.
Twitter: @CoriDoerrfeld Instagram: coridoerrfeld
My name is Flavia Zorrilla Drago and I was born and raised in Mexico City. When I was a child my dream was to become a mermaid. Sadly that didn't happen, but around the same age, something else did: I started drawing.
I started my career as a graphical designer and then I became an illustrator, which has given me the opportunity to live and travel doing what I love in different countries such as Spain, France, and England, where recently I graduated from the Children's Book Illustration MA at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.
I consider myself a versatile illustrator who likes to work in all kinds of projects like: children's books, branding, packaging, advertising, fashion, apps, lettering or character design. I love colour, textures and shapes and enjoy creating them with different materials and a bit of digital sorcery. My new dream is to become a picturebook author and to create stories of my own.
When I am not drawing I enjoy the normal things: cooking, running, spending time with the people I love, watching horror movies, and collecting odd medieval images and Soviet propaganda.
To know more click here.
Check out Flavia's Domestika Course!
Instagram: flavia_zdrago
Artist Jorge Lacera was born in Colombia, and grew up in Miami, Florida drawing in sketchbooks, on napkins, on walls, and anywhere his parents would let him.
After graduating with honors from Ringling College of Art and Design, Jorge worked as a visual development and concept artist for major gaming studios and entertainment companies.
As a big fan of pop culture, comics, and zombie movies, Jorge rarely saw Latinx kids as the heroes or leads. He is committed to changing that, especially now that he has a son.
Jorge is currently helping to create the next chapter in the Bioshock franchise as the Associate Art Director at Cloud Chamber Studios in Montreal, Quebec.
Megan and Jorge offer paid critiques as well as phone/Zoom consultations. They provide picture book manuscript and dummy critiques, middle grade manuscript critiques, portfolio critiques and query/pitch guidance. Email megan@studiolacera.com for more information and rates.
Note: Jorge will be doing a co-critique with Megan.
Picture Book Spotlight Interview
Twitter: @jlacera Facebook: @MeganAndJorgeLacera
Brian Lies is a native of Princeton, NJ, who graduated from Brown University in 1985 with a degree in British and American Literature. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for two and a half years, and began doing editorial page illustrations for numerous publications, including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and Christian Science Monitor. He illustrated his first children’s book for Houghton Mifflin Co. in 1989, and has since illustrated nearly thirty others, including his 2019 Caldecott Honor book, The Rough Patch, and the New York Times bestselling bat series, including Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library, Bats at Ballgame and Bats in the Band.
Brian’s books have been nominated for numerous state awards and have won several, including the Bill Martin, Jr. Award (Kansas), and have been translated into numerous languages. He has also won many awards for his political illustrations in newspapers and magazines. His work has been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, named as a top ten book of the year by Time/CNN, and read aloud on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday by Scott Simon and Daniel Pinkwater.
Brian enjoys visiting schools around the country to talk with students about writing and illustrating stories. He nearly stopped reading in the third grade, but was encouraged by his local librarians and rebounded, becoming an avid, lifelong reader. A 1985 graduate of Brown University with a degree in British and American Literature, he feels very strongly about the importance of getting young people to read. Brian spends part of the school year traveling throughout the United States to work with students and encourage them in their goals. He lives with his family in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
Picture Book Spotlight Interview
Masha Manapov is an award winning, multidisciplinary illustrator and designer. Born in Baku and raised in Tel Aviv, she now makes her home in Bristol, England. Her bookmaking, like her editorial work, is conceptual, colourful, and textured. Her work has been exhibited globally, and has appeared in Wired, The New York Times, O Magazine, and The Boston Globe. In December 2019, Ariba - an old tale about new shoes, her first book as author- illustrator was published by Enchanted Lion marking her US debut.
Instagram: mashka.man
Heidi McKinnon is an author / illustrator who lives in sunny Melbourne. Heidi has a background in art and design. Her books are mostly based on true stories, except for one.
Heidi’s first picture book, I Just Ate My Friend, was shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Children’s Book Council Crichton Award and has been published around the world, including in the USA, France, Japan, China and Korea.
Picture Book Spotlight Interview
Instagram: heidimckinnon
Daniel Miyares is a critically acclaimed picture book author and illustrator. Some of his books include: Float, Night Out, That is My Dream, and Bring Me A Rock!. Daniel has been called “…a master of visual storytelling.”- Jody Hewston, Kinderlit, and “…enchanting, versatile” – The New York Times. He believes that our stories have the power to connect us all. Daniel’s story currently takes place in Lenexa, KS with his wife, their two wonderful children, and a dog named Violet that gives them all a run for their money.
Some of his partners have included: Schwartz & Wade Books, Chronicle Books, Candlewick Press, Simon & Schuster BFYR, Nancy Paulsen Books, FSG (BYR), North/South Books, Charlesbridge Publishing, The NY Times
Picture Book Spotlight Interview
Twitter: @danielmiyares Instagram: danielmiyaresdoodles
Rodolfo is an illustrator/writer from the Los Angeles area. He's a recent MFA grad (illustration) from CSULB and has been working in children's book publishing for nearly ten years. He enjoys working with traditional media such as ink, watercolors, charcoal, and collage. His illustrated books include The Contagious Colors of Mumpley Middle School and The Amazing Wilmer Dooley, both written by Fowler Dewitt, and the picture book Dear Dragon by Josh Funk. His debut author/illustrator picture book, Bye Land, Bye Sea, co-written with his wife René, will be released in 2022 by Roaring Brook Press.
Facebook: Rodolfo Montalvo Illustration Works Instagram: rodolfomon3
Michael Rex has written and illustrated over 40 books for children, including the gruesomely hysterical, #1 bestseller, Goodnight Goon. His popular sword-swinging Fangbone! graphic novels have been turned into an animated show that runs on Disney XD in the U.S., and many other markets worldwide. He visits schools across the country, as well as internationally, to share his books with students of all ages, and he has a masters degree in Arts Education. His work covers a wide range of styles, from the simple, goofy rhymes of Truck Duck, to heavily illustrated, yuck-filled, Icky Ricky chapter books. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two boys, and a dog.
Twitter: @mikerexbooks Instagram: fangbone_rex
