Emma Quay — illustrator & author

An illustration by Emma Quay of a girl with brown skin and brown hair in a purple tracksuit running along holding a home-made paper bird aloft. The branding for the Paper Bird Illustration Exhibition and Thames & Hudson Illustration Award rubs across the bottom of the image.

The branding for the Paper Bird Illustration Exhibition and Thames & Hudson Illustration Award.

So happy to hear that the little girl I painted for the Paper Bird Illustration Exhibition and Thames & Hudson Illustration Award is on the short list.

Thank you, Paper Bird Children’s Books & Arts and Thames & Hudson Australia.

paperbird.com.au/illustration...

Thank you, Rachel! 💗

I’ve stuck at this job for a long time and there have been ups and downs, but making books still makes me happy. 😊
A thing like this is a lovely surprise. Thanks so much, @scbwi.bsky.social, and all who voted for HAPPY ALL OVER in the Crystal Kite Awards. I feel honoured… and very happy!
#kidlitart

Sketch in turquoise brush pen by illustrator Emma Quay of a girl jumping up and down holding a littke plastic spoon. A note on the page says, “rainbow tutu socks”.

Shame I only had one colour with me! 🌈🧦🧦 excited girl trying flavours at the ice cream stand. 🥄🍦
#sketchbook #💙📚#picturebookillustration #kidlitart

If sketchbooks had Photoshop…

#kidlitart #💙📚#picturebookillustration #sketchingpeople

A pen and coloured pencil sketch by illustrator Emma Quay of a boy in a stripy jumper drawing in the sand with a stick.

Quicksticks. (Does anyone say that any more?) ✍🏻 One of the speediest sketches I’ve done (not sure about the ‘third eye’ fringe line.) A boy at the park drawing in the sandpit.
#emmaquaysketchbook #walktosee #kidlitart #illustrationart

Yes! Thanks. :)

Tiny pen and coloured pencil sketch by children’s picture book illustrator Emma Quay of a girl with a brown bob, yellow jumper and blue shorts, spearing to hold a real pencil behind her back, thus showing her scale.

Tiny sketch. How tiny? This tiny! ✏️ #💙📚 #kidlitart

Author-illustrator Emma Quay reading the new paperback edition of her picture book MY SUNBEAM BABY. The cover illustration shows a mother bouncing her baby on her knee, sitting on a hilltop with the sun behind them.

A circle of sun on this rainy day: the paperbacks have arrived! MY SUNBEAM BABY in a new format, and I've always had a soft spot for a paperback. 💛
#kidlitart #💙📚 #PictureBook

An illustration by Emma Quay from the picture book HAPPY ALL OVER. In it, a woman with grey hair sits in an armchair reading to four children who are on her lap and on the arms of the chair. A toddler on the rug at their feet lifts a flap in a board book.

My first ever #KidLitArtPostcard. 💙 I told myself I’d post it on the very next first Thursday after watching @brianlarossa.com’s entertaining and enlightening talk for @scbwi.bsky.social Mid-Atlantic last month (saved up for while I was on my solo residency). Fun to join in… at last! 😊
#PictureBooks

Tiny pen and coloured pencil illustration by Emma Quay of a girl carrying a stack of paper. A pen lies on the page nearby.

Tiny pen and coloured pencil illustration by Emma Quay of a girl. A pen lies on the page nearby.

I'm back in my own studio in Sydney, with piles of pencil illustrations going on the scanner, one by one. ✏️✏️✏️
I’m finding rather a lot of tiny pen people in the margins (you'll see how tiny in the 2nd pic). Maybe they’re trying to sneak into the book…
#💙📚 #picturebooks #KidLitArt #emmaquaysketchbook

The cover of the picture book HAPPY ALL OVER by Emma Quay with the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award medallion.

I’m thrilled to discover "Happy All Over" has won the 2025 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. They are voted on by our community, which makes it feel extra special. 😊
Thank you to all who voted for "Happy All Over" and to SCBWI HQ. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
www.scbwi.org/crystal-kite...
#kidlitart #SCBWI25CK #CrystalKiteAward #💙📚

Photograph of a coloured pencil sketch by illustrator Emma Quay of a young girl in an orange jumper and green rain boots watering some young plants with a hose. The page lies on a green painted table with a pair of child’s scissors next to it.

Photograph of a coloured pencil sketch by illustrator Emma Quay of a young girl in an orange jumper and green rain boots watering some young plants with a hose. The page lies on a green painted table.

This little person is going in the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust journal, as I finish my month-long residency. 🧡 🌱
#💙📚 #kidlitart

Two copies of the picture book MY SUNBEAM BABY by Emma Quay — the hardback and the board book. Cover of the picture book MY SUBEAM BABY by Emma Quay, in hardback. The cover illustration shows a mother bouncing her baby on her knee, sitting on a hilltop with the sun behind them.

A third baby has joined this little family — the paperback of MY SUNBEAM BABY. ☀️☀️☀️ I think there’ll be a few copies at home when I return, so I’ll look forward to taking some pics then. 💛
#💙📚 #kidlitart

An open sketchbook with a coloured pencil sketch by illustrator Emma Quay of a toddler girl walking across the road wearing blue rain boots and a floral aqua and pink anorak. A pink pencil lies on the page.

Do you think someone spotted me drawing her? 👀
#emmaquaysketchbook #colouredpencilsketch #australianillustrator #walktosee #kidlitart

Brush and ink sketch by Emma Quay of a dog walking along a paintbrush, looking back over its shoulder.

Look where you’re going, little doggy.
#💙📚#kidlitart

Easter leftovers… 🐰
#emmaquaysketchbook #kidlitart #illustration #💙📚

Quieter days, post-Bologna, with my younger daughter. #💙📚
#emmaquaysketchbook #sketchillustration #kidlitart

Author-illustrators standing in front of Bologna Children’s Book Fair signage.

Emma Quay taping her posters to the Illustrators Wall at Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Emma Quay holding her picture book HAPPY ALL OVER, in the Australian stand at Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Author-illustrators standing in front of Bologna Children’s Book Fair signage.

I loved our first day at Bologna Children’s Book Fair! Wonderful company (old friends and new)… and so much to take in. I can’t wait for more, tomorrow. 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚 @crosby-fairall.bsky.social

Can you tell I’m happy to be in Bologna! 🎶 The children’s book fair starts tomorrow. ✏️✏️✏️🎉🎉🎉
#💙📚 #emmaquaysketchbook #illustrationart #kidlitart

Thank you, Kim. Getting excited now! x

Bye-bye, Florence. 🛤️ Heading to Bologna today, for the Children’s Book Fair next week. 🎉
#💙📚 #kidlitart #emmaquaysketchbook #illustration

Open sketchbook with a drawing in pen and coloured pencil by illustrator Emma Quay of a baby of Kenyan descent holding a baby bottle and wearing a woollen hat, sitting on a bench in the Piazza Di Santa Maria Novella.

You’ll have to take my word for it that there was something quite spectacular behind her, but I was more drawn to the baby. Sorry!
#emmaquaysketchbook #walktosee #sketchbookpage #sketchillustration #💙📚

Worth the wait! #sketchinginthequeue #insidetheduomo
#cattedraledisabtamariadelfiore #💙📚

Illustration from the picture book HAPPY ALL OVER by Emma Quay showing two children skipping through a shower of colourful raindrops. One child is holding her umbrella to the side to soak up the rain.

Hope you soak up a little happiness, on its International Day today! 💦
💙📚
#internationaldayofhappiness #happyallover #kidlitart #picturebook #emmaquay

So far I know @crosby-fairall.bsky.social and @modavey.bsky.social will be there! 🌟🌟

What’s on the trolley in my studio?
Not just ✂️. Also, a ticket to something I’ve always wanted to attend… and it’s finally happening this month! 🇮🇹📚📚📚
Is anyone else going to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year? I know a couple of my brilliant friends are, and maybe we’ll see you there.
#💙📚

Thanks so much. I was thrilled to see it there. 💓

A copy of Emma Quay’s children picture book with a CBCA Notable Book sticker.

Early childhood is very much where my heart sits, and to see HAPPY ALL OVER sharing the shelf with such beautifully child-centred picture books makes me, well… very happy.
Congratulations, all! I’m thrilled and honoured to find my book amongst the CBCA Book of the Year Award Notables.
#💙📚 #kidlitart

Illustrator Emma Quay’s hand holding up a small sketchbook and brush pen. On the page are drawings of two girls in bikinis, and we see a view of rocks, Clovelly Beach and the ocean with sunbathers and swimmers in the background.

Happier sketching than swimming! The view from the shade, Clovelly Beach, Sydney. ✍🏻 Loved doing the Coastal Walk with our overseas visitors today. 🌊
#pensketch #sketchbook #illustration #emmaquaysketchbook