Photo by Luke Castrillon
About me /
Melissa Castrillon is an English and Colombian illustrator based in the south east of England. She spends a large chunk of her days illustrating and writing picture books for children as well illustrating and designing Book covers for readers of all ages.
She has illustrated more 12 picture books, written three and her books have been translated into more than 20 languages around the world.
Melissa is motivated by punchy colour combos, inventive compositions, ingenious page design and unusual patterns. And she probably spends too much time day-dreaming about all of these things and how she can apply them to new projects.
In 2019 she was awarded the Gold medal by the Society of illustrators in New York for her wordless book ‘The Balcony’. That same year she was asked to re-imagine the covers for Philip Pullman’s HIS DARK MATERIALS series. You can see all of these and more in BOOKS & BOOK COVERS sections above.
In between book projects Melissa spends time designing screen prints & Riso prints which she sells in her shop HERE.
You can also buy her Domestika course ‘Picturebook Illustration: Explore Color and Composition
Contact /
For publication & commission enquiries please contact Helen Boyle of Pickled ink illustration agency- Helen@pickledink.com
For shop enquiries please contact- melissacastrillonshop@gmail.com
For all other enquiries- mv_castrillon@hotmail.com
Clients /
Penguin Random House / Walker books / Chronicle books /
Simon & Schuster / Faber & Faber / Bloomsbury / Scholastic /
OUP / Usborne / Anthropology / Templar / Red Cap Cards /
Djeco / Topipittori / Chicken house books / Groundwood books /
Macmillan / Magic cat publishing / Little Brown books / Hachette
Awards & Honours /
2026- Winner of the Margaret Mallett Award (Leave the tree please).
2026- Nominated for the Carnegie Award for illustration (Leave the trees please).
2025- Highly Commended, Wainwright Prize (Leave the trees please)
2022- Winner of the CPNB Bronze Brush Award (Mighty Min)
2022- Winner of the UK Literary Association Award for Best information picture book (NANO, the spectacular science of the very very small)
2021- Silver award, Anglia Ruskin university Young Alumni of the year.
2021- School Library journal Best book of the year 2021 (Dear little one)
2020- Highly Commended, World illustration awards (His Dark materials books covers)
2019- Winner of the Society of illustrators, OA Show Gold medal (The balcony)
2019- New York Times notable Picture book (The balcony)
2018- Short listed, Academy of British cover design
2015 -Shortlisted, World illustration awards (self initiated screenprint ‘Plant life’)
Talks/ Workshops / Exhibitions
2026- October- Virtual Saturday stories Workshop @ Society of Illustrators, NY.
2026- June @ The gallery at the playroom, London, An Exhibition celebrating nature by Children’s book creators.
2026- April @ Bologna children’s books fair- SOI illustrators exhibtion
2025- November- @ SOI, Original Art show, New York
2024-November- @ SOI, Original Art show, New York
2021- July @ Cambridge school of Art summer school- Lecture & teaching
2021- June & October @ Imperial college of London - Nano science & Art workshop with Dr Jess Wade.
2019- June @ Cambridge school of Art / ‘Tools of the Trade’ Talk.
2019- November @ SOI, Original Art show, New York
Books /
. Round & Round (2027, Little Brown books)
Heat-The spectacular science of the very (very) hot and very (very) cold (2027, Walker books)
Leave the trees please (2025, Magic cat)
The World Entire (2025, Chronicle books)
. Love is my favourite colour (2024, S&S)
Beginning (2022, S&S)
Dear little one (2021, S&S)
Nano-The spectacular science of the very (very) small (2021, Walker books)
Can you keep a secret? (2021, Alison Green/Scholastic)
The Balcony (2019, S&S)
Mighty Min (2019, Alison Green/Scholastic)
Un silenzio Perfetto (2018, Topipittori)
Yellow Kayak (2018, S&S)
Animazes (2017, Big Picture Press/Tempar)
Che Bello! (2017, Topipittori)
If i had a little dream (2017, S&S)