Keynote Speakers
Yu Rong
Yu Rong is an acclaimed British-Chinese children’s picture book illustrator. She obtained a BA degree in Chinese Painting and Contemporary Art Design from Nanjing Normal University’s Art College and an MA degree in Communication and Design from London’s Royal College of Art, where she studied under Quentin Blake. Her first picture books with Walker Books have been published in Britain, America, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, France, Sweden, New Zealand and other countries. In recent years, she has been working with several Chinese publishers and has worked with leading Chinese authors, including the Hans Christian Andersen award winner Prof. Cao Wenxuan and Andersen award nominee Mrs Qin Wenjun. She has received several international and national, prestigious illustration awards, including being shortlisted for CILIP's 2022 Kate Greenaway award for Shu Lin's Grandpa. Yu Rong’s art work combines traditional hand paper cuts with drawing, which allows the pencil drawing to bring plain two dimensional paper cuts into a vivid rich three dimensional art work. Yu Rong lives in the countryside of Cambridge with her husband, Donkey, her three children, Caterpillar, Chilli Pepper and Bean, and their German Pointer, Captain Sniff.
