Drahos Zak

Drahos Zak arrived in Australia from the Czech Republic in 1980 after completing a PhD in Illustration and Graphic Design at Charles University, Prague. In Australia Drahos has worked as an Illustrator for various newspapers and magazines, but it is his illustrations for children’s books that have gained him international recognition. His work has brought him awards and commendations for more than 20 years including The Pied Piper of Hamelin retold by Robert Holden, which won best design at the APA awards and was a Notable Book, Book of the Year, Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards in 1998; The Brothers Gruesome, written by Susan Elgar, which was short-listed for the Parent’s Choice Award, USA, 2011; and The True Story of Mary Who Wanted to Stand on Her Head, written by Jane Godwin, was short-listed for Book of the Year: Younger Readers, Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards, won the White Raven UNESCO International Youth Library Award and the Aurealis Award, Children’s Short Stories category all in 2006. Murgatroyd’s Garden was an Honour Book in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book Awards in 1987. Drahos has written and illustrated his latest book, Aroma and lives on the south coast of New South Wales.