Simone Lia is an English

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Early life and education

Born to

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

parents, Lia grew up in

Haverhill, Suffolk Haverhill ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, next to the borders of Essex and Cambridgeshire. It lies about southeast of Cambridge and northeast of central London. In 202 ...

. She studied art in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, illustration at 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 ...

, and did an MA in communication in art and design at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

Works

She has created a number of children's books including ''Billy Bean's Dream'', ''Follow the Line'' and ''Little Giant''; and comics such as ''Golden Lions'' and ''Monkey and Spoon''. Her graphic novel '' Fluffy'' appeared in four self-published parts before being collected in one volume by

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

in 2007. Fluffy is a baby rabbit who is being looked after by an anxious, single man called Michael Pulcino. Michael tries to make it clear to Fluffy that he is not his daddy, but Fluffy appears to be in denial. She is also noted for her work with

Tom Gauld Tom Gauld (born 1976) is a Scottish cartoonist and illustrator. His style reflects his self-professed fondness of "deadpan comedy, flat dialogue, things happening offstage and impressive characters". Others note that his work "combines pathos w ...

, whom she met at the

. Together they self-published the comics ''First'' and ''Second'', under their Cabanon Press. The two volumes were then published together by

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. Bloomsbury's head office is located on Bedford Square in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in ...

in 2003, as ''Both''. She has drawn ''Sausage and Carrots'' for ''

The DFC ''The DFC'' was a weekly British children's anthology comic, published by David Fickling Books (an imprint of Random House). The first issue was published at the end of May 2008. The title stood for "David Fickling Comic". Its successor, '' The ...

'' and ''Lucie'' for '' The Phoenix''. Lia also contributes ''The Simone Lia Cartoon'' for the ''New Review'' magazine of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''.

Personal life

She is married to Tim, with whom she has a daughter Anjès (born around 2017). Lia is a practising

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bibliography

* ''The Secret Time Machine and the Gherkin Switcheroo'' (

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. History Sebastian Walker launched Walker Boo ...

, 2020) * ''They Didn't Teach THIS in Worm School!'' (

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 ...

, 2017) * ''Please God, Find Me a Husband!'' (Jonathan Cape, 2012) * ''Fluffy'' (

, 2009) * ''Little Giant'' (Gullane Children's Books, 2004) * ''Both'' (with

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 ...

, 2003) * ''Follow the Line'' (Mammoth, 2002) * ''Billy Bean's Dream'' (Gullane Children's Books, 2000) * ''Red's Great Chase'' (

Egmont Books The Egmont Group (officially Egmont International Holding A/S; known as Gutenberghus Group until 1992) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishi ...

, 2000)

References

External links

*
Cabanon Press homepageBloomsbury.com entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lia, Simone Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the University of Brighton Artists from Suffolk British female comics artists English children's book illustrators English women children's book illustrators English children's writers English comics artists English comics writers English graphic novelists English people of Maltese descent English Roman Catholics British female comics writers People from Haverhill, Suffolk Writers from Suffolk 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Year of birth missing (living people)