About Me

I always start with a huge mess of words or sketches.
Then I spend lots of time clearing spaces.

Here's something about me, with some spaces.

I recently moved to East London. I've planted a garden here, and love exploring the city on my bike but I still have a base in Senlis, France where my two children were born and I lived for many years.

I illustrate for young children all over the world. Sometimes I write books too.

My mother was Catalan, my father English, and my children are bilingual English- French, so I feel at home anywhere and with anyone who's a mix of identities.

I love pooling inspiration at workshops I give for children and adults in schools and organisations across the world, including the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

So what's my typical working day?

If I'm not my studio, armed with a brush, pencil or graphic pen, I might be mulling in the Idea Store down the road. It's one of the busiest libraries in London. Its four floors offer books for everyone, doors into other experiences, light, space, the murmur of many languages plus inspiring views from the top floor café. Back home when the house falls silent, I'll often work into the early hours, looking out from time to time at other lit windows across the city.

Here's a short professional bio on the site of my agent Hen & Ink or here's an older, longer bio. And here's an interview.

I've worked for many clients but my main publishers include: Bloomsbury (UK, US), Bayard (France), HarperCollins (US), Little Hare, Egmont (AUS).

Bridget Strevens-Marzo