Benji Davies is an illustrator, author and animation director. His charming and timeless children’s stories have merited many awards and accolades.
Davies grew up in Peterborough, England. He studied animation at University in Hull. He decided to move south, to London, to work as an animation director. Working on a diverse range of projects including directing animated commercials, music promos and short films, before finally finding his home in children’s books.
Davies’ books have been published in multiple languages and countries. His first picture book, The Storm Whale, won the inaugural Oscar’s First Book Prize in 2014, launched by the Evening Standard and was shortlisted for Booktrust’s Best Book Awards. Though he had more than a decade of illustrating books, this was his first time writing the story. Davies’ follow-up Grandad’s Island, won the children’s book category of the AOI World Illustration Awards 2015 and Sainsbury’s Children’s Book of the Year 2015.
With a global appeal of both his artwork and his writing, Benji’s style is colourful and nuanced. He includes enough detail to tell a rich story without cluttering the Image. His illustrations also do well capturing the feeling of the location, which he does by balancing the characters and landscape. They work together, with neither taking centre stage.
Find more of Benji Davies’ work on his website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
