Agata Królak

(b. 1987) – an author of picture books and illustrated activity books.

An illustrator and designer, she uses techniques like woodcarving and ceramics in her visual narratives. She holds a PhD in Art (her dissertation was called Speaking with a Picture: The Picture Book and the Development of Visual Language, 2018) and runs the Illustration Studio at the Faculty of Graphic Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Her illustrations have been shown at festivals and exhibitions in New York, Tokyo, London, Brussels and Paris.

Her picture books focus on a child’s proper emotional development, promoting sensitivity, empathy and tolerance (‘Czujemisie’ [Emotibear], ‘Różnimisie’ [Varibear], ‘Myśli Teo’ [Teo’s Thoughts], ‘Piękno Teo’  [Teo’s Beauty], ‘Włosy. Książka o tolerancji’ [Hair: A Book on Tolerance], and ‘Ada i Edek. Zeszyt o uczuciach dla trzylatków’ [Ada and Edek: A Book about Feelings for Three-Year-Olds]). The theme of her activity books is often the environment; their aim is to build curiosity in young people, and healthy relationships with what is all around them (‘Wytwórnik domowy’ [Household Builder], ‘Wytwórnik kosmiczny’ [Outer Space Builder]). The author explores these motifs in order to show how marvellous the world and people are, in illustrated books focused on what is vital or valuable, but is hidden from human eyes – in either private human affairs (‘Skrytki’ [Hiding Spots]) or treasure hunts (‘Las zabaw’ [Forest of Games]). She also operates in the realm of nostalgia and encourages storing memories by making original cookbooks with recipes gathered from family members and friends (‘Ciasta, ciastka i takie tam’ [Cakes, Cookies, and the Like] and ‘Z działki, z lasu i takie tam’ [From the Garden Plot, from the Forest, and the Like]).

Agata Królak is the winner of the Ad Makers’ Club award, and has also received mentions at the Polish Graphic Design Awards. Household Builder won the MUST HAVE survey at Łódź Design Festival (2014). Outer Space Builder (2017), ‘Masło śpi’ (Butter Sleeps, 2018), Teo’s Thoughts (2019) and Hair (2022) were featured on the post-competition BIS Lists of the Polish section of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People); Hiding Spots was singled out by IBBY. Hair received a nomination for the Most Beautiful Polish Books, organised by the Polish Society of Book Publishers (2022).

For more on the work of Agata Królak, see: www.agatakrolak.com.