About Jan Dolby

Represented by Dan Cramer at Page Turner Literary Agency.

Jan Dolby is a freelance children’s illustrator and graphic designer based in Aurora, Ontario Canada. Jan is internationally published and has a vast amount of technical and graphic design experience. She has illustrated over 35 books for children and is incredibly grateful for her creative life and is delighted to be illustrating for the children’s industry. Seeing her work in bookstores and online is a dream come true.

Her first Canadian picture book, ‘Gabby’ written by Joyce Grant won the Rainforest of Reading Festival Award – Montserrat in 2015. Since then she has illustrated Gabby: Drama Queen, Gabby: Wonder Girl, Lucky Me, The Cold Little Voice and But Why? A Virus Story About Feelings. She has illustrated children’s books with authors Joyce Grant, Alison Hughes, Jackie Azua Kramer and Carolyn Huizinga Mills to name a few.

 

illustration of Jan Dolby with her wiener dog Margaret

She is a Fine Art graduate of the University of Guelph and holds an Arts Administrative Certificate from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Prior to freelancing, Jan worked at Young Peoples Theatre, London Children’s Museum and the Quinte Arts Council. Jan was born in St. John’s Newfoundland and has lived in many towns and cities across Ontario.

Currently, Jan is an art instructor for the Aurora Cultural Centre and Southampton Arts Centre and she is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), The Canadian Children’s Book Centre, Illustrators for Hire and ChildrensIllustrators.com.

Jan and her family live in a home with 47 steps and spend their summers surfing in Lake Huron.

Interviews with Jan Dolby

KidLit411 illustrator spotlight interview 

Kathy Temean illustrator interview

Bearded Bookseller interview 

Honours & Awards

Gabby picture book Winner – Rainforest of Reading Festival, Montserrat 2015 Nominee – Rainforest of Reading Festival, Grenada and St. Lucia 2014 Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets Top 10 2014 Featured in: Canadian Toy Testing Council Toy Report 2014 Award Winning Books Canadian Living Magazine’s Family Fun Guide summer 2013 – Great Summer Reads The Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids and Teens 2013 – Picture Books for kids ages 3 and up
Below Your Belt, How To Be Queen of Your Pelvic Region Gold Medalist – Independent Publisher Book Award, Recognizing Excellence in Independent Publishing, Award for Juvenile-Young Adult Non-Fiction Gold Medalist – Nautilus Book Award, Better Books for a Better Word, Juvenile-Young Adult Non-Fiction Silver Medalist – Independent Book Publishers Association, Ben Franklin Award for Editorial and Design
Winning entry “Car Art” Minted X Pottery Barn Kids X PBTeen contest

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