Elys Dolan is a children's book writer and illustrator, and lecturer at the Cambridge School of Art.[1] She came in second for the Macmillan Prize for Children's Picture Book Illustration as a student.[2] She won the Zena Sutherland Award for Excellence in Children's Literature 2015.[3] Her books are typically humorous, and she illustrates primarily with ink.[4]
Dolan's first book, Weasles (2013), was praised for its humour and for the wide age range to which it appealed.[5] It was shortlisted for the 2013 Roald Dahl Funny Prize.
Her book Doughnut of Doom (2016) attracted controversy in 2018 over its treatment of food allergies.[6] The main character, a peanut butter sandwich, saves the town by causing the villain, a giant doughnut, to have an allergic reaction. In response to complaints, the publisher Nosy Crow recalled and destroyed all copies of the book it was sent.[7] Dolan subsequently revised the book, changing the story and some parts of the art to remove references to allergies, and a new version was published in 2019.[8]
Mr Bunny's Chocolate Factory won Best Laugh Out Loud Picture Book at the 2018 LOLLIES awards.[9] The book has been described as "political" and pro-union.[10] How the Borks Became (2019), illustrated by Dolan and written by Jonathan Emmett, won Best Early Years Book in the STEAM Children's Book Prize for educating children about evolution.[11]
Other works include Super Snail, The Haunted Farm, Steven Seagull, Nuts in Space, Knighthood for Beginners, and others.[12] [13]
Dolan has a BA in Fine Art, an MA Children's Book Illustration, and a Ph.D. in Children's Book Illustration (awarded 2020) from the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University.
Dolan collects pocket watches.[14] She is partially deaf.