Korky Paul is the children's book illustrator behind Winnie the Witch, The Fish Who Could Wish and Dragon Poems, among other publications. He has original artwork on show at The Mazza Collection Galleria at the University of Findlay in Ohio, US.

Growing up in Africa

Born in 1951, in Salisbury, Rhodesia¹, Hamish Vigne Christie Paul grew up in a family of seven children in the African Bushveld. From an early age, Paul enjoyed creating cartoons and reading comic books. He was given the nickname 'Korky' when he began drawing. He studied Fine Art at the Durban School of Art in South Africa before joining an advertising agency in Cape Town. At the agency his boss' secretary greeted him with 'Hello, howzit. So you're Korky Paul, the new drawer?' But Paul doesn't simply see himself as someone who draws, as he reflects:

As the drawer, you are not only the cinematographer but also the director, the casting agent, the costume designer, the set designer and responsible for the locations, lighting, props and continuity!

In 1976, he fled apartheid South Africa and went to live in Greece. There he met a Scottish man called James Watt who worked for a Greek publisher. That same publisher commissioned Paul to illustrate children�s books aimed at teaching Greek children to speak English. He then joined an advertising agency in London and Los Angeles, before embarking on an animation course at CAL-ARTS in California. His first book was a pop-up called The Crocodile and the Dumper Truck, published in 1980.

Meeting Winnie the Witch

In 1986, Paul met the editor of Oxford University Press (OUP), Ron Heapy. He remembers their meeting vividly:

Ron looked at my work, and gave me a manuscript for OUP's Reading Tree programme, at the lower end of the market, asking me to do a couple of drawings for it. It was the first Winnie the Witch, and I thought it such a great story I turned it into a whole picture book.

Although Heapy was not after a whole book on Winnie the Witch, he still showed OUP delegates Paul's drawings and they accepted them. Eventually, the book became so popular it won the Children's Book Award in 1987. Paul was particularly honoured by this accolade, as it was judged solely by children. He states: 'So, for me, winning an award judged by children is a particularly rewarding and special experience.'

Family Man

Paul now lives in Summertown, Oxford, UK, with his wife, Susan Moxley, and their two children, Zoe and Oska. Moxley grew up in South Africa like her husband, and attended a course on Fine Art in Durban. She did a postgraduate course at Croydon College in the UK and is well known for her prints, paintings, illustrations and stained-glass work.

Other Books

Paul has illustrated many other books for authors such as John Foster and Robin Tzannes, and drawn many more pictures of Winnie the Witch for Valerie Thomas and OUP. The books featuring the wonderful witch have done so well that many of the stories have been translated into more than ten languages worldwide.

In 1991, Anne McNeil, editor at the Bodley Head, asked Paul to illustrate Jonathan Long's book The Dog That Dug. Once released, it won The Sheffield Book Award. Paul and Long have created a further three books under the supervision of McNeil.

Helping to Break the Ice

In 2005, Paul was asked by the charity Action for Prisoners' Families to come up with illustrations for story books. These stories would help children come to terms with a family member going to prison. Lucy Gampell from the charity said: 'Something in the region of a third [of children] are not told where their parent is taken - though a lot work it out for themselves.' It is hoped these books help the child to feel less isolated and able to take part in discussions that concern their parent.

What he gets up to now

Today, Paul takes pleasure in visiting schools and talking to children about his love for illustrating the books they read. He engages them in what they think would make a great illustration and is inspired both by their suggestions and the drawings they give him.