Julia Denos is an author and illustrator of books for children (young and grown). Her 2016 debut as an author/illustrator, SWATCH, The Girl Who Loved Color, a wild tale about sentience and creativity, was named an ALA Notable selection. Her mythical STARCROSSED, was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2020, and invites readers to befriend the astronomical sky. As an author, Julia collaborated with illustrator E.B. Goodale on their community-focused, multi-awarded picture book, WINDOWS, and HERE and NOW, an introduction to mindfulness for children, which celebrates the unfolding present moment. Julia has also illustrated many books, including Margaret Cardillo’s Just Being Audrey, a biography on cinema star and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn, and Boni Ashburn’s I Had a Favorite Dress, a lyrical read-aloud that encourages DIY upcycling over fast-fashion.

Her 2023 release from Clarion Books, SANCTUARY: A Home For Rescued Farm Animals, advocates for animal rights from a child’s perspective, and is a tribute to the rehabilitated farmed animals she met, rescued from the egg, meat, and dairy industries. A lifelong animal lover, she visited many sanctuaries and learned about the violence animals suffer in the agricultural system, and the connected humanitarian injustices and ecological destruction. Changed by this knowledge, Julia became vegan in 2017. Now she uses her words and pictures as her form of advocacy and creative resistance to these systems.

A student of the natural world, Julia’s work is rooted in her passion for nurturing intuitive and reverent connection between people, plants, animals, and planet. Creating with words and pictures is her way of dreaming of liberation for all beings. She is motivated by affinities for both our ancient past and emergent future, her devotion to the Earth and protection of its biodiversity, a dream of reviving ancestral plant-based life-ways, and her interests in all things archaeobotanical.

Julia lives and works in coastal Massachusetts, with her husband, Matt, and their rescued animal companions, Cave (dog) and Serif (cat). If she isn’t in her studio, you might find her in a beloved salt marsh—traditional homeland of the Naumkeag and Agawam peoples. You might also find Julia and Cave in the forest foraging for edible “weeds” and mushrooms, or in the kitchen practicing her ancestral Italian over a pot of pasta. She’s on Instagram here: @juliadenos

My last name, Denos, is Greek, and is pronounced “Dee-nohs”.

Clients & Collaborations:

Abrams Books, Amazon, Anthology Magazine, American Girl, Balzer & Bray, Candlewick Press, Clarion Books, EnergyBBDO, Guideposts Magazine, Hallmark, HarperCollins, Highlights, High Five Magazine, Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, Little Brown, MacMillan Kids, Oxford University Press, Penguin, Point One Percent, Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster