Emily Bolam

Emily Bolam was born into an artistic household in Buckinghamshire, drawing and painting before she could walk or talk.

She moved to Brighton to study illustration at the College of Art under the tutelage of legendary book illustrator John Vernon Lord. Her first idea for a children’s book began there as a college project. It was a re-imagining of Rudyard Kipling’s How The Elephant Got His Trunk and was published upon her graduation.

Since then, Emily has illustrated over two hundred books for children, by many different authors, including Georgie Adams, Vivian French and Francesca Simon. She has worked with publishers such as Penguin, Campbell Books, Orchard Books and Orion amongst many others.

Emily is best known for her lively and colourful depictions of animals in pre-school and novelty formats. She illustrated the best-selling first series of Buggy Buddies, published by Campbell, which became a must have for every buggy and pram. Her books have been selected for inclusion in the BookTrust?s Bookstart packs in both Scotland and England; and recently, Emily was delighted to receive a letter from Dolly Parton saying one of her books will be included in the country icon?s Imagination Library, which seeks to improve children?s educational opportunities in North America and the UK.

Emily still lives in Brighton where she works from a sunny studio in her home, bringing new animal characters to life every day.

Emily is represented by The Bright Agency