Walsh, Joanna 1970-

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Walsh, Joanna 1970-

Personal

Born May 24, 1970, in England; daughter of Ken (a teacher) and Lyn (a teacher) Walsh; married Robert Stevens (a lecturer); children: Florence, Elliot. Education: Hertford College, Oxford, M.A. (English), 1991; Central Saint Martin's College of Art, diploma (illustration), 1998.

Addresses

Home and office—Oxford, England. Agent—Philippa Milnes Smith, 14 Vernor St., London W14 ORJ, England. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Illustrator and writer, beginning 1995. Instructor at Swindon Art College, Roald Dahl Museum, and Story Centre; host of art workshops for children and adults; various artist residencies. Exhibitions: Work exhibited by British Design Council and at St. Anne's College Oxford.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Lion!, Transworld, 1996.

What If?, Jonathan Cape (London, England), 1999.

Amos Jellybean Gets It Right, Hodder Headline (London, England), 2005.

All Asleep, Hodder Headline (London, England), 2007.

ILLUSTRATOR

Lynda Britnell, Nettie's New Shoes, Orion Children's Books (London, England), 1996.

Lynda Britnell, Nettie's New House, Orion Children's Books (London, England), 1996.

Lynda Britnell, How Nettie Got Her Wings, Orion Children's Books (London, England), 1996.

Lynda Britnell, A Name for Nettie, Orion Children's Books (London, England), 1996.

Adèle Geras, The Magical Story House, Macdonald Young (Hemel Hempstead, England), 1996.

Marjorie-Ann Watts, Crocodile Tears: Three Stories, new edition, Hodder Children's (London, England), 1996.

Caroline Plaisted, My Day as a Bridesmaid, Bloomsbury (London, England), 1996, published as I'm in the Wedding, Too: A Complete Guide for Flower and Junior Bridesmaids, Dutton Children's Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Ernest Henry, Rub-a-dub-dub: New and Best-loved Poems for Babies, Bloomsbury Children's Books (London, England), 1997.

Contributor of illustrations to periodicals, including London Guardian, New York Times, World of Interiors, Die Woche, Economist, and Canadian National Post.

Sidelights

Joanna Walsh is an artist whose animated illustrations have been paired with texts by writers such as Adèle Geras, Lynda Britness, and Marjorie-Ann Watts, in addition to bringing to life her own original stories. Walsh's picture book All Asleep, which features babies sleeping everywhere from cribs to cars to outside under the starlit night sky, is a bedtime story for the very young, while Amos Jelly Bean Gets It Right is a humorous tale for the toddler set. Popular with children in her native England, Walsh also works as a teacher and hosts writing workshops for budding young artists as well as adults.

"I have an eclectic approach to writing and illustrating for children and adults," Walsh explained to SATA. "In all my work, the illustrations tell the story as much as the text and my work is concerned with the intertwined and sometimes conflicting relationship between the two. I also design for animation and illustrate for newspapers and magazines around the world."