Meet the author

Bethan Stevens.

Writer & illustrator · United Kingdom

Author-illustrator of The Grumpy Fairies, a Waterstones Prize-winning read-aloud — warm, comic picture books that gently laugh bad moods out of the room.

Bethan Stevens is a London-based author-illustrator who studied English literature before taking the celebrated MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. Her debut as author and illustrator, The Grumpy Fairies, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Illustrated Books in 2021 — a gleefully funny cautionary tale about foot-stamping little fairies and a goblin who finds grumpiness delicious. Her follow-up, A Damsel Not in Distress!, continues her line in warm, comic picture books that gently poke fun at big moods and fairy-tale conventions. Stevens works in expressive, gorgeously coloured art with pitch-perfect comic timing, making her books a joy to read aloud. She is a name to watch for families after funny, good-natured picture books.