this is sort of what I look like

Billie - she guards my phone and remote so I don’t get distracted

Lily & The Polar Bears workshop

Hi & thanks for visiting my website! I’m an author and illustrator of children’s and young adult books. Other than writing and drawing, I love lots of things: reading poetry, playing and listening to music, running, learning languages, trying new food, walking in forests, swimming in the sea and…getting letters from my readers, of course 😄

I grew up in Brighton and now live in Paris with my family. I’m a self-taught illustrator and studied English literature at Oxford University. One of my very first jobs was being an intern to Caroline Lucas in the European Parliament and it was brilliant. Working on green issues definitely influenced my first book, Lily & The Polar Bears. When I moved to Paris, I taught English to students at Sciences Po and ENSAE universities before opening my own language school, Anglofun. In my spare time, I would go to brilliant writing workshops run by Arvon and SCWBI and work hard at my portfolio and writing style. Eventually I got an agent and my first book was published in 2018.

Now, I mainly spending my time drawing and writing in my garden studio or doing school visits. If you would like me to visit your school or do an online visit, get in touch with me directly jionsheibani@gmail.com My fees are in line with the Society of Authors (both UK and France). For anything else, please contact my agent, Emily Talbot @ United Agents.