Annemarie van Haeringen studied at the Rietveld Academy under Thé Tjong-Khing and also learned a lot about the profession of illustration from her fellow artist Max Velthuijs. Since her debut in 1985, her work has evolved from detailed watercolour and ink illustrations to whimsical line drawings featuring a
bold use of colour and plenty of space on the paper.
The Princess With the Long Hair, an entirely imaginary story, was awarded the most important Dutch prize for illustrators, the Golden Paintbrush, in 2000.
She won the same prize the year before, with Malmok, and again in 2005 for Bear Woos Butterfly. Coco, or the Little Black Dress was nominated for the
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and Snow White Knits a Monster was awarded the BIB Golden Plaque. Both books were awarded a Silver Paintbrush, as well as And Then Sheherazade? And Then?. Her books were published in more than 25 languages.
Jet Parent
Jet Parent is an illustrator who creates illustrations in which colour, from bright to subtle, and atmosphere, from eerie to idyllic, prevail. She studied Illustration Design at ArtEZ University of the Arts as well as Falmouth University. She is mostly inspired by graphic novels, fairytales, children’s literature, travelogues and nature, and enjoys working with gouache and coloured pencils. Her graphic novel Aberfala (2018) got selected for The Unpublished Picturebook Showcase and was exhibited at the Frankfurt Book Fair of 2019.
Enzo Pérès-Labourdette
Enzo Pérès-Labourdette was born in 1991 in Le-Puy-En-Velay, France. He lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Pérès-Labourdette graduated from his Communication Design Bachelor in 2014. During his graduation year he worked on his first commission for The New York Times, had his work selected and shown at the Society of Illustrators and Art Directors Club in New York, and was named one of the “top 100 new creatives to watch” by CMYK magazine. In 2015 he received two prestigious talent development grants from the Fiep Westendorp Foundation and the Creative Industries Fund NL, and exhibited in the Van Abbe Museum. His work has appeared on the cover of The New York Times Sunday Review and he has illustrated for clients such as The New Yorker, Heineken and Dolce & Gabbana.
Milja Praagman
Milja Praagman (born 1971) grew up in an old house on a dike, surrounded by lots of animals and space. She studied graphic design and illustration at the Academy for Visual Arts Sint-Joost in Breda. Her first clients were mainly newspapers and magazines. Later, she also worked as an animator for Sesamstraat, the Dutch Sesame Street.
Before long, she was brimming with new ideas for her own stories. One of these became her first picture book Mister Po, which won immediate acclaim from the press. Since then, she has been unstoppable. Her books include 100 Sleeps to Go (Picture Book of the Year 2013), Breakfast Buttocks, Join Us (Picture Book for Dutch Children’s Book Week 2018) and With You, a wonderful story about seasons and friendship. In 2016 she received a Silver Paintbrush award for Because I Love You So Much.
Gideon Samson
Gideon Samson (b. 1985) dreamed of being a professional footballer but instead became a writer, like his mother. And what a writer he is. His debut Niks zeggen! (Don’t Say Anything!, 2008) about bullying was an award winner and he became the youngest-ever winner of a Zilveren Griffel (Silver Pencil) for De hemel kan wachten (Heaven Can Wait, 2009). This was followed by Met je hoofd boven water (Keeping Your Head Above Water, 2010) and the sensational Zwarte Zwaan (Black Swan, 2012). Black Swan was awarded a Silver Pencil, both Eilanddagen (Island Days, 2016) and his picturebook debut Alle dieren drijven (All Animals Afloat, 2017) were awarded a Vlag en Wimpel (Flag and Pennant) and Overspoeld (Flooded, 2014) a Golden Frame. Gideon’s newest book, Zeb. (2018) was awarded the Golden Pencil 2019 and a Silver Paintbrush.
Author Photo © Jitske-Schols
Liset Celie
Liset Celie is an illustrator who graduated from the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht in 2016. She draws her inspiration from the obvious things that other people often fail to notice, in which humour plays an important role. As a great lover of old picture books, she likes to use nostalgic colours. Her work is characterised by the combination of paint and coloured pencil. She lives and works in Amsterdam.
Thaïs Vanderheyden
Thaïs Vanderheyden is a Belgian author and illustrator. She studied Art History at the Catholic University of Leuven and worked as a scriptwriter for Belgian national children’s tv-channel Ketnet.
Thaïs lives near Antwerp with her husband and four children.
Leo Timmers
Leo Timmers studied advertising and graphic design and worked for many years as an illustrator. He made his debut as a picture book author in 2000 with Happy with me and was awarded with a Bookfeather (most promising picture book debut) the same year. From then on he wrote most of his books himself.
Gus’s Garage was awarded the 2017 Children’s and Youth Jury Award, a price Leo Timmers won eight times. His book Bang was awarded the prestigious Bookpeacock Award (best illustrated book of the year). A Home for Harry was elected Picture Book of the Year 2019 in the Netherlands and Monkey on the Run was chosen for the New York Times / New York Public Library 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Book 2019.
Hanneke Siemensma
Hanneke Siemensma studied Dutch Literature in Amsterdam and Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague. She is addicted to the smell and feel of paint, brushes, charcoal and paper, and has a weakness for patterns and old photos. Hanneke works as an independent illustrator and editor.
Caroline Ellerbeck
Caroline Ellerbeck (born 1975) is an illustrator who makes enchanting children’s books, which she publishes herself. She is motivated by the enjoyment of drawing itself, bringing to life something that did not previously exist. Colourful little universes full of funny characters, irresistible to both children and adults. And that’s exactly the intention! Caroline lives in Rotterdam.
photo ©Annemarie Andriessen
Sanne te Loo
Sanne te Loo studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Breda and has worked as an illustrator ever since. She writes and illustrates her own picture books and she also collaborates with various writers. Her books were published in the Netherlands, Germany and the USA.
Ingrid & Dieter Schubert
Ingrid and Dieter Schubert were born in Germany in 1953 and 1947 respectively. After studying at the Academy of Design in Münster and the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf they attended the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Their many books for children are available in 21 languages and their work has been exhibited all over the world.
In addition to creating, writing and illustrating their own stories, Ingrid and Dieter sometimes work together with other author friends such as Janis Ian, Edward van de Vendel, Ted van Lieshout and now with Daan Remmerts de Vries.
www.ingriddieterschubert.com