Sharon King-Chai

Sharon King-Chai was born in Sydney, Australia and moved to London twenty years ago armed with a jar of vegemite and some paintbrushes in her backpack. Sharon’s design career began in the music industry, creating album covers for a range of music icons whilst at design studio Stylorouge, before moving into book design. Before long she started creating her own books, as well as designing and illustrating the intricately beautiful  Animalphabet, Counting Creatures and Colours, Colours Everywhere (Two Hoots) written by the bestselling Julia Donaldson. Sharon’s most recent self-authored book Starbird (Two Hoots) won the Kate Greenaway Shadower’s Choice Award in 2021. Her books have gone on to win a range of international accolades including the Chen Bochui Award for Best Picture Book, and she has been shortlisted for D&AD awards, World Illustration Awards, Indie Bookshop Awards, Society of Illustrators and Academy of British Cover Design.

Sharon is currently working on a new series of baby books, Mirror Magic (launching in 2025 with Two Hoots), and establishing her own range of greeting cards and prints. She lives in north London with her husband and two girls.