Meet the author

Nikki Russell.

Illustrator · United States

Nikki Russell: illustrator of Dork Diaries and the inspiration for its heroine, whose doodles and scribbled-diary style are central to one of the most reliable reluctant-reader hooks for 9–12s.

Nikki Russell is an American illustrator and the artist behind Dork Diaries, the hugely popular illustrated diary series written by her mother, Rachel Renée Russell. The youngest of the mother-daughter team, Nikki is the namesake of the series' heroine, Nikki Maxwell, and it was her own doodling and dorky sense of humour that helped inspire the books. Across the series she supplies the trademark cartoons, doodles and exclamation-packed handwriting that make each page feel like a real teenager's scribbled journal — a big part of why the books hook reluctant readers so completely. The look she gives Nikki Maxwell's world, from Westchester Country Day to Paris, is warm, funny and instantly recognisable, and central to a series that has become a near-universal staple for 9–12s who love Diary of a Wimpy Kid.