Photo credit: Amelia Read Photography
Zoe Waring is a highly accomplished children’s book author, illustrator, and designer whose vibrant storytelling and irresistible characters have delighted young readers around the world.
She is represented by Georgia Tournay-Godfrey at the Bright Agency and has worked with many publishers across Europe and the US, Including; Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, Hachette, Scholastic Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, UNION SQUARE & CO, Ladybird Books, Auzou Editions, Little Tiger Press, and Usborne Publishing.
2026 will see the exciting arrival of Zoe Waring’s interactive author/illustrator series, FRED. The series will launch 2nd April with Fred - Goes to Space. Each book will see Fred peeking inside his sparkly bag, to discover what new thing he’s going to try that day! We see him embarking on a new adventures, building confidence and often being rather silly.
Zoe is also the trusted illustrator for the infamous Peppa Pig, Little Golden Books series with Penguin Random House. She has just finished illustrating the 9th title is this series.
Check out BOOKS to see more of what’s published and coming soon!
Zoes work also reaches beyond the publishing industry and has worked with clients such as Spotify, Pigment and Hallmark Cards.
What is Zoe like…
Zoe is a positive, friendly, warm and hardworking! She can proudly say she’s never missed a deadline and has many happy clients, who often return to work with her again and again.
She loves storytelling, sketching, making up songs and has a rather silly sense of humour. Which is probably why she thrives making Children Books!
Prizes and awards…
Selected for the Bookbug bag by Scottish Book Trust 2023 Peek-a-Boo Baby: Zoo published by Pat-a-Cake, Hachette Children’s Group.
Selected for the Bookbug bag by Scottish Book Trust 2021 Peek-a-Boo Baby: Moo published by Pat-a-Cake, Hachette Children’s Group.
Finalist in the Progressive Preschool Awards 2020 with the Peek-a-Book Baby range of books, published by Pat-a-Cake, Hachette Children’s Group.
Shortlisted for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Award 2020 with Peek-a-Boo Baby: Zoo published by Pat-a-Cake, Hachette Children’s Group.
Tigerprint Future of Design Award 2003
Highly commended for the Macmillan Prize 2001
Her style…
Zoe tends to illustrate with digital brushes working with fun palettes and texture, but she also enjoys working traditionally, with ink, pencils, paints. She has sketchbooks packed with pages of funny characters waiting to be brought to life. Zoe loves to experiment with her personal work, which has led to more styles to choose from. This adds lots of variety to her commissions, but whatever style the client prefers, her main goal is to create warm, likeable and engaging characters.
Background…
Zoe grew up in the small market town of Darlington, surrounded by colouring pencils, penny sweets, two equally silly sisters and three crazy cats.
She studied Graphic Design at Teesside university, specialising in illustrating Children's Books.
In 2001 she was selected and highly commended for the Macmillan Prize.
After graduating in 2003, she moved to London and exhibited at New Designers. Here she won the Tigerprint Future of Design Award, which included a placement with Hallmark Cards where for three years Zoe worked as in-house designer and illustrator.
Her love for books, ever present, led to Zoe moving on to becoming a Picture Book Designer. She worked in-house for Usborne Publishing, Random House Children’s Books, Scholastic Children's books and then finally Bloomsbury Publishing.
As a Senior Designer, Zoe helped create some award winning picture books and got to work with a huge list of fantastic artists, such as Marc Boutavant, David Tazzyman, Debi Gliori, Sue Hendra, Jim Field, Sam Lloyd, Yasmeen Ismail, Emily Mackenzie, Tom McLaughlin... to name but a few! She filled her boots with knowledge, whilst her evenings were spent filling sketchbooks with her own characters and stories.
Zoe longed to have her own books out there, and in 2014 she finally took the leap, signed with The Bright Agency and became a freelance Illustrator and Designer!
Zoe now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with her husband Neil, daughter Freja and two furry friends, Frodo and Willow!