Bio
Kelly Canby is an award-winning, internationally published, illustrator and author of over two dozen books for children. Kelly was born in London, England, but has lived in Australia since the age of three, which is probably around the same age she started playing with pencils and crayons, and it was probably only a few years after that that she decided playing with pencils and crayons was something she wanted to do for the rest of her life.
Kelly’s second picture book The Hole Story won the prestigious 2018 Western Australian Premier’s Book Award for Writing for Children, while Littlelight was shortlisted for the same award in 2019. Rodney, The Hole Story and Littlelight have all been Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Notable books for Picture book of the year. Kelly is also well known for her illustration work on writer Jaclyn Moriarty’s Kingdoms and Empires series of books. Together they have made four books which have either won or been shortlisted for several awards.
Kelly is on the judging panel for the annual Shaun Tan Illustration Awards, Assistant Regional Advisor for The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Australia West and on the Board of The Literature Centre, Fremantle.
With a Bachelor of Art in Design from Curtin University, Kelly applies her quirky style to the pages of everything from picture books, to chapter books, to early reader books, to colouring books and beyond!
Bibliography
Picture books written & illustrated by Kelly:
Littlelight
Kelly Canby (2020 Fremantle Press)
• Shortlisted; 2019 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards
• Shortlisted; 2020 WAYRBA Awards
• Notable Book; 2021 CBCA Picture Book of the Year
• Shortlisted; 2021 Children’s Peace Literature Award
• Rights sold: Turkey, China, Greece
Rodney
Kelly Canby (2019 Fremantle Press)
• Notable Book; 2020 CBCA Picture Book of the Year
• Rights sold: Turkey
The Hole Story
Kelly Canby (2018 Fremantle Press)
• Winner; 2018 Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards
• Notable Book; 2019 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
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)
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 