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Shirley Hottier

All of the information on this page has been provided by the author. If you need an author to have specialist skills, experience or knowledge please ask for more information about this ahead of booking them for an event. Please note that Scottish Book Trust cannot carry out Disclosure checks on Live Literature authors for most events. It is the responsibility of the person organising the event to carry out the appropriate Disclosure checks.
Contact: [email protected]
Local authority: Edinburgh City
Languages: English
Author type: Illustrator
Shirley Hottier's headshot

Ever wanted to play through pictures? Shirley Hottier is an award-winning French illustrator of children’s books, based in Edinburgh. Her vibrant artwork blends traditional printmaking with digital illustration, creating a distinctive style that delights young readers. 

Winner of the 2021 FAB Prize (Faber’s award for underrepresented illustrators), Shirley has brought stories to life in books such as Patrick and The Not-So-Perfect Party (Little Bee Books, 2024, US) and the forthcoming You’ve Got This, Little Pangolin (Simon & Schuster, 2026, UK). She has also illustrated The Poetry World of John Agard (Otter-Barry Books, 2025), highlighting her versatility across picture books and poetry.  

Shirley is passionate about celebrating diversity and empowering children. She inspires them to explore their own creativity while discovering the joy of book illustration. 

From a mixed-heritage background, she is passionate about nurturing inclusivity and curiosity through stories. Available for booking for schools, libraries, book festivals, and bookshops, she offers engaging workshops and events. These include storytelling, live drawing, adding description and detail, how to story-board, hands-on crafts, and printing demonstrations. These can be tailored to suit ages 3-11 years old and are flexible to link to different projects to enhance expressive arts and literacy curricular outcomes.

Websites featuring the author

Local authorities will visit

Aberdeen City; Aberdeenshire; Angus; Argyll and Bute; Clackmannanshire; Dumfries and Galloway; Dundee; East Ayrshire; East Dunbartonshire; East Lothian; East Renfrewshire; Edinburgh City; Falkirk; Fife; Glasgow City; Highland; Inverclyde; Midlothian; Moray; Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles); North Ayrshire; North Lanarkshire; Orkney Islands; Perth and Kinross; Renfrewshire; Scottish Borders; Shetland; South Ayrshire; South Lanarkshire; Stirling; West Dunbartonshire; West Lothian

Events will deliver

Bilingual event; Live drawing; Reading

Topics of work

Animals; Characters of colour & BAME characters; Childhood; Comedy, humour & funny books; Picture books; Rhyming books for younger readers

Age groups published for

Children

Age groups will work with

3-5; 6-8; 9-11

Audience size

0-10; 11-30