Emma Lidia Squillari
picture books & illustration
Fun fact: as a child I had an audiocassette tape, know to me with the title of "Rosie", which I loved very much. Many years later as an illustration student, I realized with much delight that my "Rosie" was a recording of Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library and of some of his other picture books. Of course I had liked it so much!
I was born in 1991 in northern Italy to an American mother and Italian father, and I grew up surrounded by books, cementing my love of literature at an early age. After five years in a specialized art high school, I studied illustration at Bologna's Academy of Fine Arts. Since graduation, I have published books both in Italy and abroad.
My typical day? Listening to podcasts and looking after my houseplants and kitten, while worrying over my watercolors in my home studio in Bologna.
If you want to get in touch with any questions, send me an email at emmalidia.squillari@gmail.com.
I'll be happy to answer!
Books
Terre di Mezzo / Illustrator and creator of
Un Pomeriggio da Brivido,
text by Giuditta Campello, 2025.
Terre di Mezzo / Illustrator and creator of
Gita al Lago, text by Giuditta Campello, 2024.
The Creative Company / Illustrator of
Was it a cat I saw? by Laura Bontje, 2024.
Salani / Illustrator of
Devo dirti una Cosa by Eshkol Nievo, 2022
ELI Greenwich / illustrator of
Alice in Wonderland, retold by Claire Moore, 2022
Terre di Mezzo / Illustrator and author of
I Dispettosi, 2021
Grasset Jeunesse / Illustrator and author of
La Baignade, 2021
Seuil Jeunesse / Illustrator and author of
Dans l’Oeuf, 2019
Atlantis Verlag / Illustrator and author of
Alle in den Garten, 2018
Prizes
2025
Selected, fiction category, Un Pomeriggio da Brivido,
IBBY Italia Choice 2025, curated by IBBY Italia, AIE and Bologna Children's Book Fair.
2025
Finalist, 6-10 yr category, Gita al Lago,
Premio Orbil, Associazione Librerie Indipendenti Ragazzi.
2025
Selected work for The Unpublished Picturebook Showcase in the Bologna Children's Book Fair, curated by DPictus and Picturebook Makers.
2024
Winning poster, Join the Revolution! Giving each child good books.
A competition by Ibby Italia and
Bologna Children's Book Fair.
2022 - 2023
Winner, 3-6 yr category, Din Lou (Catalan translation of Dans L'Oeuf).
Premi del Libre Vivant, Departament dels Pirineus Orientals.
2021
Shortlisted, Dans l'Oeuf.
Prix Bernard Versele, Belgium
2020
Winner, Petite et Moyen Séction, Dans l'Oeuf.
Prix Atout Lire, Quint-Fonsegrives, France