Bia Melo creates bold, joyful worlds full of colour, curiosity, and quirky characters. Her debut picture book, The Dream Book (Templar), was shortlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize (UK), selected as The Times' Best Children's Books of the Summer and recognised by the Society of Illustrators (NY), Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Awards (China) among others.

Her second book, Little Snail goes House Hunting (Quarto Books), continues her exploration of humour, wonder and imaginary worlds and was recognised by the Society of Illustrators (NY). She also illustrated her first non-fiction title, Mama Mammals (Cicada Books), longlisted for the Information Awards (UK) and has brought her playful touch to the early readers series Doddle & Dot (Oxford University Press). Her books have already been translated and enjoyed across many territories.

Born in Brazil and now based in East London, Bia draws inspiration from her tropical roots, everyday curiosities and a love of experimenting with materials. Her illustrations combine printmaking, hand-drawn textures and a designer’s eye for colour and composition as she previously worked as a designer for Flying Eye and later received the The Queen Elizabeth Trust Scholarship to pursue an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, graduating Highly Commended at The Macmillan Prize for Illustration (UK).

Bia is currently working on new picture books that invite children to explore, laugh and discover joy and imagination in the everyday.