Harriet Bailey

Harriet was born in Lower Hutt soon after her parents emigrated from England. She grew up in a rural Waikato town, where she disliked long bush walks, but enjoyed looking after cats and their kittens, dogs, calves and rabbits. Thirst for imagery and to paint pictures began early, she was an avid reader and drawer. Favourite children’s books included those by Raymond Briggs, John Burningham, Ron Brooks and Maurice Sendak. While at college she studied painting and printmaking followed by two years years at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland which she left to study illustration at Christchurch School of Art & Design – graduating with a Diploma in Visual Communications in 1997. Working as a graphic designer in Wellington she is now freelancing and rediscovering her passion for illustrating. Harriet is particularly interested in books that evoke a range of emotions within children, where individualism is celebrated as a strength of character and the story concludes on a very satisfying note.

Awards:

• Storylines Gavin Bishop Award 2010.

Selected Bibliography:

• Hester and Lester text by Kyle Mewburn (Random House 2011).
• Out of Bed, Fred! text by Lucy Davey (Scholastic 2011).

Website:

• www.harrietbailey.com
• Examples of Harriet's award-winning artwork are available as a PDF from the Random House New Zealand site.