Zehra Hicks

Children's author, Illustrator

www.zehrahicks.com

Booking enquiry

Available for

Workshop, Talk, Reading, Interview

Audiences

Age 1 to 3, Age 3 to 5, Age 5 to 7, Age 7 to 11, Age 16 to 18+, Further Education, University, Adult

Book types

Picture book

Awards

Oscar's Book Prize 2024
Book Trust StoryTime Prize 2025
Academy of British Cover Design 2021
Nottingham Children's Book Award 2018
Teach Primary Book Awards 2018
Kate Greenaway Medal 2016
'Read it Again!' Cambridgeshire Children's Picture Book Award 2012
Heart of Hawick Children's Picture Book Award 2012

Details

I love visiting schools, it’s one of the best parts of my job - to inspire children and encourage creativity through drawing and writing. As well as being very active doing talks and workshops in schools, I run creative after-school Illustration Clubs for KS1 and KS2 to help children gain confidence in drawing, developing characters and developing engaging stories and comics which gives them an essential creative outlet outside the school curriculum.

I can run workshops from Nursery up to Y6, but I can also visit secondary schools, 6th Form colleges, libraries and literary festivals. I am a part-time illustration tutor at Chelsea College of Arts and Putney School of Art and Design on their Book Illustration courses. I'm very happy to do assemblies and talks too. I've even been on Channel 5 news to talk about the importance of reading at bedtime, so I'm certainly not phased by speaking to a crowd!

Workshops can be catered to individual class needs, usually in class-sized groups. For Reception and Y1, after reading some of my books and Q&As, we usually do a creative drawing session which helps them explore their imagination. From Y2-Y6 we can look more into character creation, planning a story using methods I use, or making a mini comic, all of which can be developed into longer stories using words and pictures if time allows. For the older classes I can also show how a book dummy is made and bring in my first sketches and show how they developed into published stories so they can see and understand the process.

"A HUGE thank you for coming to PGP. You were amazing and pitched each workshop perfectly for the year groups. You’ve received lots of wonderful feedback from other staff members and the books are fab!"
Hannah Patton, Head of English, Parsons Green Prep, London

"Zehra came to Horsham to work with a group of thirty able writers from local schools. The children were fascinated by the process of producing a picture book story for younger children. Zehra’s ideas and drawings were an inspiration to them. They planned, and started to create, their own picture books, which they were keen to take home to finish. I would thoroughly recommend a visit from Zehra."
Vee Willis, North Heath School, Horsham, Sussex

“Our children enjoyed planning stories with Zehra and it lead to the children enthusiastically writing their own stories. Some of our reluctant boy writers were most inspired as they were enthused by the idea of planning their work through drawings.”
Maureen Basford, Abbots Ripton Primary School, Cambridgeshire

“Zehra delighted the pupils in Reception, Year 1 and 2 with her wonderful illustrations, fantastic stories and inspirational ideas to get them started on writing their own stories.”
Anisa Lewis, Surbiton High Boys’ Preparatory School, London

"Year 1 loved Zehra's books and the classes had lots of questions to ask her about how she wrote and illustrated her stories. Her enthusiastic manner inspired the children to develop their own ideas and they learnt about the importance of drafting in the process of authorship. An exciting and valuable learning experience!"
Helen Vidal, Stamford Green Primary School, Surrey

I live just outside London in Epsom in Surrey, and I tend to do events within 100 miles. However I have can be booked for longer visits further afield if booked for longer than one day. I'm happy to visit schools outside of UK - last year I visited international schools in Budapest and Munich. I am also happy to do signings either over lunch or after the school event. For further information including my fees, please email me above.

Event feedback

Zehra led a series of absolutely wonderful workshops and assemblies. The kids hugely enjoyed themselves and told us it was their favourite part of our World Book week celebrations. I would highly recommend Zehra to any school. Thank you!

Rebecca Bedding (James Wolfe Primary)

It was a pleasure welcoming Zehra to our school. She worked with each class and the children really enjoyed her visit. The work shops were at exactly the right level (Zehra and I worked to together to plan the sessions) and the Year 2 were able to carry on with the work for the rest of the week. Zehra did book signing after school as well. I would recommend a visit from Zehra for Key Stage 1 children.

Ruth Gooch (St Nicholas CEVC Infant School)

Zehra's visit to our school was wonderful. She was well-organised, friendly and passionate about sharing her journey as an author and illustrator to inspire young readers. The children were so excited to meet Zehra and loved the opportunity to ask questions about her stories. They were also thrilled to take part in her draw-along workshops and produced some beautifully creative illustrations as a result. Thank you so much Zehra, we hope to see you again soon!

Katie Jarvis (Longfield Primary school)

On Friday 4th April, Zehra visited our school for a memorable and engaging event that left both children and staff inspired. The visit was part of our school book day which focused on creating a love of reading and writing, and it certainly succeeded in achieving that goal. From the moment Zehra entered our school, the atmosphere was charged with excitement. The author kicked things off with a lively talk about their journey into writing, sharing personal anecdotes about their early experiences and how they overcame challenges to become a published author. It was both inspiring and relatable, especially for the children aspiring to become writers themselves. The author’s storytelling was a highlight of the visit. She read excerpts from her latest books, bringing the characters to life with dramatic flair, much to the delight of the children. The way Zehra interacted with the children, asking thought-provoking questions and encouraging them to share their own ideas, created an interactive environment where everyone felt involved. The drawing demonstration was another standout moment. It was clear that the author had not only made an impression on the children but had also ignited their curiosity about the craft of writing. The event wrapped up with a book signing, where children had the opportunity to get their copies of the book signed. It was a wonderful way to conclude the day and allowed the children to leave with a tangible memory of the experience. Overall, the author visit was a resounding success. Zehra not only entertained and educated but also inspired a new generation of readers and writers and many children are now eager to dive into Zehra's books for themselves.

What happens if you meet a Fear? It's a frightening thing, and it's different for us all. Some are helpful and keep us safe, others cannot be explained. You can fight them and tame them, but sometimes, you might find you were mistaken, and the Fear was really excitement all along! One thing's for sure... often the things you fear are more afraid of you.

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Keywords

AUTHOR BOOK WEEK CHILDREN CREATING CHARACTERS DRAWING HUMOUR ILLUSTRATOR INK DRAWINGS KS1 KS2 OSCAR'S BOOK PRIZE PICTURE BOOKS PLOT STORYBOARDING WORKSHOPS WORLD BOOK DAY