The Incredible Book Artist Oliver Jeffers

This was the name of his session at last weekend's Auckland Writers and Readers Festival and I must say that Oliver Jeffers lived up to his billing.
Incredibly talented as an artist and storyteller and with a stage presence that captivated his audience, young and old. I can't believe that I had never heard of him before I saw his name in the Festival programme so today I contacted Senior Publicist at Harper Collins NZ, who looked after him during his visit, and asked her about him. 
Here is her response:


Prior to starting with HarperCollins NZ at the beginning of the year, I had been working at Random House Children’s Books in the UK for the past years.  Oliver is HUGE in the UK.  It’s not unusual to hear his name mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Quentin Blake, Anthony Browne and Chris Wormell.  In fact, to celebrate the 70^TH anniversary of the Famous Five by Enid Blyton, five illustrators were asked to illustrate new covers for five titles.  Oliver Jeffers was included in this five illustrators, along with Quentin Blake, Helen Oxenbury, Emma Chichester Clark, and Chris Riddell (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2012/feb/24/enid-blyton-famous-five-70-in-pictures).

Admittedly, Oliver is not as well known in NZ as he is in the UK.   That being said, Oliver definitely had some keen fans in NZ, prior to his tour.  Quite often I would email media about Oliver and they would reply saying that his books were a favourite in their house, with both kids and parents!  But following this visit to NZ, I’m  certain Oliver will have gained a lot more fans.  During his visit, Oliver did a festival session with more than 1,000 kids and a workshop (both part of the AWRF school’s programme), two school events (one in Wellington, one in Auckland), a public festival session that had kids and adults alike absolutely enthralled, a sold out event in Wellington for adults, and numerous media interviews, including with the likes of Guy Somerset and Kim Hill.

I feel really honoured to have been Oliver’s publicist while he was in NZ.  He and his wife Suzanne were both absolutely lovely, and I was glad that I was able to show them a little bit of NZ whilst they were here.  

I have no doubt that Louise is correct when she says he will have gathered a lot of fans during his visit here, count me as one of them.He has written and illustrated seven delightful picture books, (I own four of them and intend to get them all),and has won many awards including the Nestle Children's Book Prize Gold Award, the Blue Peter Book of the Year, the Irish Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, and has been short-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal.He is a star!

About Oliver Jeffers

www.oliverjeffers.com

hello@oliverjeffers.com

Oliver Jeffers makes art.

From figurative painting and installation to illustration and picture-book making, Jeffers work takes many forms. His distinctive oil paintings have been exhibited in multiple cities, including the National Portrait Gallery in London.

A co-founder of the art collective OAR, their exhibitions include 9 days in Belfast, book and the award winning BUILDING.

Illustration clients include The Guardian, United Airlines, Lavazza Coffee, Newsweek International, Her Royal Majesty the Queen of England, and the Irish Times for which he received the Gold Icad Award for Illustration.

HarperCollins UK and Penguin USA publish his picture books, including The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Great Paper Caper, and most recently Up and Down. Working in collaboration with Studio AKA, Oliver’s second book Lost and Found was developed into an animated short film, which has received over sixty awards including a BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film. Oliver won a New York Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with Mac Premo.

Oliver was brought up in Northern Ireland and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, where he recently co-founded the product design company You And Me,