Marcia Williams

Original picture book artwork by Marcia Williams is available for purchase from Children’s Book Illustration.

“Williams is one of our very best retellers of the classics.” The Independent on Sunday

Marcia Williams has written and illustrated numerous books since The First Christmas was published in 1987. Many of these have been retellings of classic stories – from the Greek Myths to Shakespeare – illustrated in her distinctive comic-strip style. Marcia recently created Archie’s War, a child’s scrapbook of WW1 and Flossie’s Secret War Diary, an account of WW11 as seen through the eyes of young Flossie Albright. Both books have won awards and inspired many children to create their own scrapbooks and diaries.

When working on a new book, Marcia’s first aim is to develop a strong story that can be read aloud even without the pictures. Once the story is in place, the pictures, bubble text and humour have the strong roots needed to hold the book together. Marcia did a watercolour course at Richmond College and works mainly in that medium, although she has recently been experimenting with everything from crayon to collage.

Marcia lives in London and Lyme Regis with her dogs, Gracie and Archer. She has two grown-up children and four grandchildren. Marcia has an MA in Children’s Literature and is a Fellow of the English Association and is particularly keen to make reading and visual literacy accessible to children of all interests and abilities. She enjoys visiting schools, where she shares her enthusiasm for books with a wide range of children. She is also a regular speaker at universities, festivals and other book events.