Jillian Tamaki
Caldecott Honor-winning Canadian-American cartoonist and illustrator whose books with cousin Mariko Tamaki — Skim, This One Summer, and Roaming — have become modern classics of the graphic novel form.
📍 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jillian Tamaki is one of the most celebrated cartoonists working today — a Canadian-American artist whose expressive, deceptively simple linework has defined the look of modern literary comics for nearly two decades. Born in Ottawa and raised in Calgary, she studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design, publishing her first book, Gilded Lilies, in 2006 before teaming up with her cousin Mariko Tamaki on the 2008 graphic novel Skim — a spare, devastating portrait of a goth girl at a Toronto Catholic school that won the Ignatz, Joe Shuster, and Doug Wright Awards and landed on the Governor General’s Award shortlist. Perfect for fans of Heartstopper, Blankets, and comics that take teenagers’ interior lives seriously.
The cousins followed with This One Summer, a New York Times bestseller about two girls on the cusp of adolescence that made history: it was the first graphic novel ever honored by the Caldecott committee, earning a Caldecott Honor alongside a Printz Honor, the 2015 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album, and the Lynd Ward Prize. As an educator, Tamaki has taught at the School of Visual Arts and Parsons in New York, and her editorial illustration has appeared everywhere from The New York Times to The New Yorker, where her covers have become collector’s items.
Her solo work is just as acclaimed. SuperMutant Magic Academy — a deadpan comic about a school for mutants — was adapted into an Adult Swim animated series, while the story collection Boundless and the picture book They Say Blue earned rave reviews and multiple Governor General’s Award wins. She also storyboarded episodes of Adventure Time and produced the charming wordless picture book Our Little Kitchen.
In 2023, the Tamaki cousins reunited for Roaming, a Drawn & Quarterly portrait of three college students drifting through a New York weekend that swept the 2024 Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Album and Best Writer. Explore Jillian’s original art, sketchbooks, and shop at her official website, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram for a steady stream of gorgeous new work.
