Meet the author

Gill Smith.

Illustrator · United Kingdom

Gill Smith: an atmospheric picture-book illustrator whose soft light and big skies bring real emotional weight to gentle stories of nature, change and belonging — partnering writers from Katya Balen to David Almond.

Gill Smith is a Liverpool-based illustrator whose atmospheric, painterly work has made her a sought-after partner for some of Britain's finest children's writers. She illustrated Wild, Katya Balen's lyrical picture book about a girl who fears she has lost her wildness when her family moves from the woods to the city, using colour and greyscale to trace the child's mood as she rediscovers nature in the cracks of the pavement. Her wider list includes A Way to the Stars by David Almond, Maria's Island by Victoria Hislop and Saving the Butterfly by Helen Cooper. Smith's illustrations are tender and evocative, favouring big skies, soft light and a strong emotional undertow — a natural fit for gentle, hopeful stories about change, belonging and the natural world.