Artist Feature – Laura Borio Aug 21 2024

This month we are featuring Laura Borio as our artist of the month. Through illustration she has been able to build her self-confidence and become the successful artist we know and love today!

We talked about how she first got into illustrating and she explained how it helped her express herself as a child:

“I have always been a shy and reserved person. When I was little the best way I could express myself was by making up stories and drawing them. My favorites were the ones involving wizards, dragons and warrior princesses. Inventing those stories made me feel stronger and safer because I felt like I was living the adventures together with the protagonists.”

After learning this great way to express herself, Laura continued to create stories and eventually pursued a career in illustration. 

Becoming an illustrator became her dream, so she still looks back at her first ever published title as one of her most important:

“I am attached to all the books I have worked on, because even in the most difficult processes I still learned something. But if I had to pick one I think it would be Klyde the Kraken Wants a Friend written by Brooke Hartman and published by Hazy Dell, because it was the first picture book I ever worked on. I can't describe the emotion I felt when I held it in my hands for the first time! It made it all real.”

Now she has become a successful illustrator with books published all over the world.

“It still seems like a dream to me, but the books I've worked on have been published in the UK, US, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Russia and Korea. It's such a great honour!”

With her success, Laura still continues to push herself to create more and find new ways to express herself through her storytelling. She talked to us about her newest projects: 

“There's a book recently released that I am very proud of, Griselda Snook's Spectacular Books written by Barry Timms and published by Little Tiger. It was a great challenge for me because I tried to abandon myself to a freer and less precise style, and this made me feel lighter and appreciate the process of creating an illustration even more… I'm working on a couple of projects right now that I'm really excited about that involve ghosts and Halloween and I can't wait to show you something!”

We can’t wait to see her new projects either! 

Everyone here at Advocate is thrilled to have Laura on the team and to watch her continue to grow. When asked about her time working with the team, she said:

“Before signing with Advocate I had never worked on a book, and maybe I didn't even believe I could! Over the years I have been able to collaborate with many of the agents, all kind and knowledgeable, and always ready to advise me, help me and push me beyond my limits. I can truly say that I owe them a lot.”

It is always a pleasure to advise and collaborate with artists so they can make their dreams a reality. We look forward to collaborating with Laura for many years to come!

Interested in seeing more? Click HERE to see Laura's full portfolio!

Awards:

Klyde the Kraken Wants a Friend by Brooke Hartman, published by Hazy Dell: 2024 Nautilus Book Award Winner

2023 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Winner

2023 Moonbeam Award Winner (Picture Book)

Advocate Art illustration agency specializes in art licensing and children’s book illustrations. We represent leading illustrators who produce children's and decorative illustrations to commission or license.