Eric Velasquez

Eric Velasquez

Eric A. Velásquez is an American author and illustrator of over 30 children's books. Among other honors, he has won a John Steptoe New Talent Award (2001), Pura Belpré Award (2011), and NAACP Image Award (2021). Velásquez was born in New York City, and grew up in Spanish Harlem. He is of Afro-Puerto Rican descent, and his first language was Spanish. He graduated from the High School of Art and Design, then in 1983 received a Bachelor of Arts from School of Visual Arts, after which he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Harvey Dinnerstein. Before illustrating picture books, Velásquez designed book jackets and interior illustrations, including for Beverley Naidoo's Journey to Jo'burg (1986) and Chain of Fire (1990). His first illustrated picture book was Debbie Chocolate's The Piano Man (2000), which he won the 2001 John Steptoe New Talent Award for Illustrators. He debuted as an author in 2001 with Grandma's Records. As of 2014, Velásquez lived in New York City and taught book illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

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