Bio
Kelly Canby is an award winning Perth-based illustrator and author who brings heart, humour, and the occasional existential metaphor to children’s books.
Before finding her rhythm in children’s literature, Kelly worked in graphic design and advertising, where her love of visual communication evolved into a passion for telling stories through pictures and words. Her first author-illustrated book, All the Lost Things (2015), brought that passion to life and set the tone for the kind of books she loves to make: curious, thoughtful, and just a little bit odd.
Kelly’s books have received wide recognition for their originality and quiet complexity. In 2018, The Hole Story won the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award for Writing for Children, with Littlelight shortlisted for the same award the following year. Timeless was awarded CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2024, and her latest title, A Leaf Called Greaf, is currently shortlisted for the 2025 CBCA Picture Book of the Year.
Kelly is also the illustrator behind Jaclyn Moriarty’s beloved Kingdoms and Empires series — a five-book collaboration full of imagination, detail, and mischief.
Outside the studio, she serves as Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI Australia West and sits on the judging panel for the Shaun Tan Illustration Awards. She also visits schools, libraries and festivals to talk about books, ideas, and the many benefits of not growing up entirely.
Kelly has a Bachelor of Art in Design from Curtin University, a love of visual storytelling, and a knack for sneaking deeper themes into brightly coloured pages.
Bibliography
Picture books written & illustrated by Kelly:
A Leaf Called Greaf
Kelly Canby (2024 Fremantle Press)
• Winner; 2025 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards – Children’s Book of the Year
• Shortlisted Book; 2025 Prime Ministers Literary Awards
• Shortlisted Book; 2025 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year
• Rights sold: Turkey, Indonesia
Timeless
Kelly Canby (2023 Fremantle Press)
• Winner; 2024 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year
• Rights sold: Turkey, Indonesia
Littlelight
Kelly Canby (2020 Fremantle Press)
• Shortlisted; 2020 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards
• Shortlisted; 2020 WAYRBA Awards
• Notable Book; 2021 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year
• Shortlisted; 2021 Children’s Peace Literature Award
• Rights sold: Korea, Portugal, Germany, Turkey, China, Greece, Indonesia
Rodney
Kelly Canby (2019 Fremantle Press)
• Notable Book; 2020 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year
• Rights sold: Turkey, Indonesia
The Hole Story
Kelly Canby (2018 Fremantle Press)
• Winner; 2018 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards
• Notable Book; 2019 Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) – Picture Book of the Year
• Shortlisted; SCBWI Crystal Kite Award
• Rights sold: North America, Canada, Italy, Slovenia, Spanish & Catalan, Belgium & The Netherlands, Korea, Greece, Indonesia
All the Lost Things
Kelly Canby (2015 Peter Pauper Press)
• Shortlisted; SCBWI Crystal Kite Award
• Rights sold: Spanish & Catalan
Jaclyn Moriarty & Kelly Canby Books:
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone
Jaclyn Moriarty (Author) & Kelly Canby (Allen & Unwin 2017)
The Slightly Alarming Tale of the Whispering Wars
Jaclyn Moriarty (Author) & Kelly Canby (Allen & Unwin 2018)
The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst
Jaclyn Moriarty (Author) & Kelly Canby (Allen & Unwin 2020)
The Astonishing Chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere
Jaclyn Moriarty (Author) & Kelly Canby (Allen & Unwin 2021)
The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet
Jaclyn Moriarty (Author) & Kelly Canby (Allen & Unwin 2024)
Picture books illustrated by Kelly:
Phil Pickle
Kenny Herzog (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Peter Pauper Press)
Fuchsia Fierce
Christian Jones (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Capstone Publishing)
Just My Style
Dianne Z. Shore, Jessica Alexander (Author) & Kelly Canby (2017 Chronicle Books)
Anthology:
Short story and illustrations in FUNNY BONES
Edited by Kate & Jol Temple (Allen & Unwin 2020)
Early reader and middle grade books with illustrations by Kelly:
The Lords of Melody
Phillip Gwynne (Penguin Random House Australia 2019)
Cover illustration – Kelly Canby
The Chicken’s Curse
Frances Watts (Allen & Unwin 2020)
Cover illustration – Kelly Canby
Kids who Did
Kirsty Murray (Allen & Unwin 2019)
Cover illustration – Kelly Canby
Class 6 and the Nits of Doom
Sally Prue (2014 Bloomsbury Publishing)
Cover and internal illustrations – Kelly Canby
Kalle Blomkvist Master Detective – Cover Illustration – Kelly Canby
Astrid Lindgren (2017 Oxford University Press)
Kalle Blomqvist Living Dangerously – Cover Illustration – Kelly Canby
Astrid Lindgren (2017 Oxford University Press)
Kalle Blomqvist The White Rose Rescue – Cover Illustration – Kelly Canby
Astrid Lindgren (2017 Oxford University Press)
The Boggart and the Monster – Cover Illustration – Kelly Canby
Susan Cooper (2017 Penguin Random House)
The Boggart – Cover Illustration – Kelly Canby
Susan Cooper (2017 Penguin Random House)
The Boggart Fights Back– Cover Illustration – Kelly Canby
Susan Cooper (2017 Penguin Random House)
Educational and other books illustrated by Kelly:
Me Time – A Mother’s Day Colouring Book
Kelly Canby (2017 Studio Press Books)
Sketch What?
Contributions by Kelly Canby (2014 Hinkler Books Pty Ltd)
Sticker Doodle Draw
Contributions by Kelly Canby (2014 Hinkler Books Pty Ltd)
The Colouring Book for All Ages
Contributions by Kelly Canby (2014 Hinkler Books Pty Ltd)
Space
Timothy Knapman (Author) & Kelly Canby (2015 Orion Books Publishing)
Molly Meacher, Class 2 Teacher
Johnny Zucker (Author) & Kelly Canby (2015 Oxford University Press)
Weather in Space
Timothy Knapman (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Oxford University Press)
Maths Save the Day
Blake and Katie Hoena (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Cantata Learning)
Technology is All Around You
Blake and Katie Hoena (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Cantata Learning)
Engineers Solve Problems
Blake and Katie Hoena (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Cantata Learning)
Let’s Use the Scientific Method
Blake and Katie Hoena (Author) & Kelly Canby (2016 Cantata Learning)
kellycanby.com 