Jane Ray (b. 1960)
Jane studied art and design at Middlesex University, originally specialising in ceramics, but always knew she wanted to be a book illustrator. She has worked with many publishers, including Walker Books, Hachette, Bloomsbury Publishing and Boxer and has also illustrated several volumes for The Folio Society.
Her books – over 60 so far - include The Lost Happy Endings with Carol Ann Duffy, The King of Capri with Jeanette Winterson, Romeo and Juliet adapted by Michael Rosen, Zeraffa Giraffa with Diane Hofmeyr and Heartsong with Kevin Crossley Holland as well as four more recent adaptations of Shakespeare, retold by Georghia Ellinas and published by Walker Books in partnership with the Globe Theatre. She also writes and illustrates her own stories – Can You catch a Mermaid?, Ahmed and The Feather Girl, and The Dolls House Fairy among others.
Jane’s work has been shortlisted 6 times for The Kate Greenaway Award, and she was the
UK Illustrator Nomination for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018. She continues to work from her studio, illustrating a wide variety of books for her long-standing publishers, Orchard and Walker Books. She also exhibits her original artwork regularly throughout the UK, and is seen here at home in North London.
