Ann James

Ann James is an Australian illustrator of more than 60 children’s books, some of which she also wrote. She has been illustrating books since the 1980s and has become a significant contributor towards the development and appreciation of children’s literature in Australia.

In 2000 she was awarded the Pixie O’Harris Award as a formal acknowledgment of this contribution and was also the 2002 recipient of the national Dromkeen Medal for services towards children’s literature

She was born in Melbourne, Australia and grew up there in the suburb of Ringwood, Later she earned the Higher Diploma at Melbourne Teachers College

Trained as an arts and crafts teacher, she taught in Melbourne high schools, then worked in publications for the Ministry of Education in Victoria. It was here that she began to work as a graphic designer and illustrator of educational publications.

Her first illustration of children’s books was A Pet for Mrs Arbuckle, written by Gwenda Smyth, entered in a 1981 competition for unpublished writers and illustrators

As her career in books began to take off, (with 14 books published by 1988), she left the Department of Education and co-founded, with fellow book enthusiast Ann Haddon, a gallery named Books Illustrated, dedicated to children’s book illustration. Consequently, she has worked towards promoting Australian Children’s books, and continued illustrating books from her home in Melbourne, and her country studio, near Castlemaine, Victoria.

Many of her books have won or been short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia book of the year awards, including Bernice Knows Best, by Max Dann,(1984) and Hannah Plus One by Libby Gleeson (1997) Also in 1997, The Midnight Gang, by Margaret Wild, was a CBCA Picture Book of the Year Honour book, and went on to win three Children’s Choice awards around Australia. Books short-listed for the CBCA Awards included Dog In, Cat Out, by Gillian Rubinstein; Hannah and the Tomorrow Room, by Libby Gleeson; Looking Out for Sampson, by Libby Hathorn; and Penny Pollard’s Diary and Penny Pollard’s Letters by Robin Klein. Ann has written and illustrated two picture books of her own, One Day and Finding Jack. Most of her illustrations feature her own animals and she delights in being playful and experimental with the materials she chooses to work with.

She was in the Australia Day 2016 Honours List “for significant service to children’s literature as an author and illustrator, and through advocacy roles with literacy and professional bodies”

Ann still lives and works opposite the beach in Melbourne, Australia, with her two dogs..