DAPO ADEOLA
Dapo Adeola is an illustrator, author and character designer who rocketed into the picturebook world with his greatly acclaimed illustrator debut, Look Up!, written by Nathan Bryon and published by Puffin in 2019.
Dapo illustrated My Dad is a Grizzly Bear and My Mum Is a Lioness, written by award-winning author Swapna Haddow (both published by Macmillan Children’s Books), and collaborated with Malorie Blackman on their picturebook We’re Going to Find the Monster. Dapo is the author of Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black, featuring 18 talented Black British illustrators.
Born in Britain and of Nigerian heritage, Dapo’s work tends to revolve around creating characters and imagery that challenge gender norms and equality politics in a fun and upbeat manner. An avid believer in the importance of equal representation in the creative arts, Dapo runs illustration- and character design-based workshops with children and adults to help highlight the possibilities of a career in illustration to inner city people of various ethnicities. Dapo currently lives in London.
Recent publications:
Rocket Rules (Puffin) | Official World Book Day book 2022
My Mum Is A Lioness (Pan Macmillan) | Picturebook (with Swapna Haddow) for age 2+
Space Detectives: Extra Weird Creatures (Bloomsbury) | Chapter book (with Mark Powers) for age 7+
Recent awards:
Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2020 and UKLA Award in 2021 for Look Up! with Nathan Bryon
EVENTS
Meteors and Monsters
1 p.m. | Pugin Hall | €5 | 3+ years
Are you a budding astronaut, like Rocket in Look Up! (written by Nathan Bryon)? Or do you have a wild imagination like Charlie and Eddie in We’re Going To Find The Monster (written by Malorie Blackman)? Join award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola for a special event exploring his picturebooks. Draw along with Dapo and take the chance to ask him anything about his work as an illustrator.
Space Detectives with Dapo
4 p.m. | The Vault Café | €5 | 7+ years
Dog lost in space? Grown an extra head and don't know why? Pocket money stolen by a green blob? You need the Space Detectives! Meet Connor and Ethan: when they’re not selling ice-cream on the world's first orbiting city, Starville, they’re solving intergalactic mysteries. Join us for an action-packed event with Dapo Adeola, illustrator of the space detectives series (written by Mark Powers). Draw along with Dapo and take the chance to ask him anything about his work as an illustrator.