Acclaimed Children’s Book Illustrator Korky Paul Kicks off

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair’s Virtual Session Series 

Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, the illustrator of the ‘Winnie and Wilbur’ series, read and drew from his books during the live stream 

 With the 30th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) postponed until next year, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) organised a special Virtual Session with acclaimed illustrator Korky Paul. This was the first in a series of live streams offering fans of authors and artists a chance to meet them from the safety of their own homes.

During the online session, titled Winnie the Witch and Korky Paul on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, Paul showed off his storytelling and artistic skills as he read and drew from the hugely popular Winne and Wilbur series. The original book, Winnie the Witch, illustrated by Paul and written by Valerie Thomas, was released in 1987. Since then, a further 19 books have been published in the series and have sold millions of copies around the world.

Broadcasting from his garden in the UK wearing his witch’s hat and cape, Paul read the story about how Winnie the Witch lived in a black house with her black cat Wilbur. He then used watercolours and felt-tip pens to create pictures of the characters from the books, interspersed with tips about how to improve one’s art skills. 

Paul, real name Hamish Vigne Christie Paul, was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and currently lives in the UK. As well as the Winnie and Wilbur series, which won the Children’s Book Award for Oxford University Press, he has illustrated several other successful books for Oxford, Penguin, and Random House, including anthologies of poems edited by John Foster and Michael Rosen. His books have sold more than 9 million copies worldwide and been translated into over 30 languages.

The next Virtual Session, titled Happy, Healthy Families: Eat Well, Feel Good, takes place on Tuesday, 21 April, 2020 at 5pm, featuring the renowned children’s nutrition expert and cookbook author Annabel Karmel. She will talk the audience through the basics of planning a healthy diet for the whole family, creating the foundation for the best kind of eating habits, and then demonstrate a simple recipe that children will love.

About the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi

The Department of Culture and Tourism conserves and promotes the heritage and culture of Abu Dhabi emirate and leverages them in the development of a world-class, sustainable destination of distinction, which enriches the lives of visitors and residents alike. The organisation manages the emirate’s tourism sector and markets the destination internationally through a wide range of activities aimed at attracting visitors and investment. Its policies, plans and programmes relate to the preservation of heritage and culture, including protecting archaeological and historical sites and to developing museums, including Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. DCT - Abu Dhabi supports intellectual and artistic activities and cultural events to nurture a rich cultural environment and honour the emirate’s heritage. A key role is to create synergy in the destination’s development through close co-ordination with its wide-ranging stakeholder base.