Suzanne Francis Hendra (born 15 August 1973) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

writer and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

of over 100 books for children, many co-written with

Paul Linnet Paul Linnet (born April 1968) is an English author and illustrator based in Brighton. Along with British author and illustrator Sue Hendra, Linnet has published over 100 children's books. Linnet is a regular guest at Edinburgh International Boo ...

, including ''Barry the Fish with Fingers''. Her books ''Wanda and the Alien'' and ''Supertato'' have been adapted for television.

Biography

Hendra graduated from the

University of Brighton The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992. T ...

in 1994 where she received a bachelor's degree in technology for

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

. She currently lives in Brighton where she works in a shared artists' studio. Hendra has worked as an illustrator for

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Macmillan and others. Hendra has one daughter named Wanda.

Work

Hendra had been working as an illustrator for several years before she changed her style due to the persuasion of Vicki Willden-Lebrecht of Bright Agency. Hendra and Paul Linnet's book, ''Barry the Fish with Fingers'' was considered colourful and cheerful by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''. Hendra used gouache paint and deliberately created bright, flat compositions for the book, which ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' says introduced an "impossibly endearing little fish." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that "Hendra's bright and cheerful undersea characters make the ocean seem like a great place to be." ''No-Bot, the Robot With No Bottom'' won the Picture Book Award in the 2014 Oxfordshire Book Awards. The television adaptation of ''Wanda and the Alien'' was produced for the United Kingdom's Channel 5 Milkshake programming by Random House Enterprises and Komixx Entertainment. "Wanda and the Alien" also appeared on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

and

Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (sometimes disambiguated as Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon or Nick Jr. on Nick, and sometimes referred to as Nick, Jr.) is an American morning programming block that airs on Nickelodeon every weekday. It was launched on January 4, 1988. Nick ...

channels in most countries. "Wanda and the Alien" was shortlisted for the 17th Big Chip Award in 2015. Along with Linnet, Hendra wrote a book for 2016's

World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright ...

titled ''Supertato: Hap-Pea Ever After'' for pre-school children.

References

External links

Official site

Interview

World Book Day - Sue Hendra
(video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendra, Sue 1973 births Living people 21st-century British women artists Alumni of the University of Brighton British children's writers British illustrators British women children's writers Writers who illustrated their own writing Place of birth missing (living people)