Charlie Mackesy began his career as a cartoonist forThe Spectator, before becoming a book illustrator for Oxford University Press. His award-winning work has featured in books, private collections, galleries and public spaces around the world.
His internationally bestselling book,The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, was published in October 2019 and holds the record for the most consecutive weeks in the Sunday Times Non-Fiction Chart across all formats, as well as being the longest-running Sunday Times Non-Fiction Number One of all time. A number one New York Times best-seller, it is one of eight books since 2013 that has remained on the number one New York Times Bestseller and on the New York Times Advice, Misc. Best Seller list. Charlie's beloved book is the first ever book to be awarded both the Waterstones Book of the Year and Barnes and Noble Book of the Year (2019) and has been translated into over 40 different languages and dialects.
Charlie's words and illustrations have brought comfort to many and have been shared online around the world, as well as on t-shirts for Comic Relief, magazine covers, street lamp posts, school classrooms, cafes, women's safe houses, prisons, hospital wards and as NHS hospital computer screensavers.
Charlie worked with Richard Curtis on the set ofLove Actuallyto create a set of drawings to be auctioned for Comic Relief, and with Nelson Mandela on a lithograph project, 'The Unity Series'. Charlie's paintings have been exhibited widely, most recently in Sotheby's in London. His bronzes can be found in public spaces in London, including Highgate Cemetery and the Brompton Road.
Away from art, Charlie co-runs Mama Buci, a honey social enterprise in Zambia that helps families of low and no income become beekeepers. He lives between Brixton and Suffolk with his dog Barney.
Johan Nic a Ghobhainn is a native Gaelic speaker from Barvas, Lewis, and studied Gaelic and Sociology at Aberdeen University. During her involvement in cultural tourism, and while working as an Education Development Officer, Johan visited many communities throughout the country supporting local initiatives. Working as a copy-editor and proof-reader over the last 25 years have seen her make a valuable contribution to many of the resources the Gaelic publishing sector has produced. She is a board member with Bord na Gaidhlig.
