Jimmy Liao (; pen name: , ; born 15 November 1958) is a Taiwanese

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

as well as a

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

writer. His Chinese

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

, 幾米, is phonetically derived from his English given name Jimmy.

Biography

After graduating from

Chinese Culture University The Chinese Culture University (CCU; ) is a private Taiwanese university located in Yangmingshan in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. CCU was established in 1962 and is one of the largest universities in Taiwan with an enrollment of about 32,000 ...

in which he majored in art, Jimmy worked in an

advertising company An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

for twelve years, and then he worked as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines. Jimmy was a middle-aged man who had survived a battle with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

in 1995 and was determined to devote himself heart and soul to his art. In 1998 his picture books ''Secrets In The Forest'' (森林裡的秘密) and ''A Fish With A Smile'' (微笑的魚) were published in Taiwan. These two books earned him several book awards and were regarded as “The Best Children’s Books” in several Taiwanese newspapers, such as '' The China Times'', '' Min Sheng Bao'', and ''

United Daily News ''United Daily News'' (UDN; ) is a newspaper published in Taiwan. It is considered to support the pan-Blue Coalition in its editorials. History UDN was founded in 1951 by Wang Tiwu as a merger of three newspapers, ''Popular Daily'' (全民� ...

''. His picture book ''A Chance of Sunshine'' or ''

Turn Left, Turn Right ''Turn Left, Turn Right'' () is a 2003 romance film, filmed in Taipei, Taiwan. Produced and directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, the film stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung. The story is based on the illustrated book ''A Chance of Sunshi ...

'' (向左走, 向右走), which was published in 1999, was voted “One of the Ten Most Influential Books” by the Taiwanese bookstore chain, Kingstones. Jimmy's books have been translated into dozens of languages and sold around the world. His books have also been adapted for

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, and

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. Many of his characters from his picture books have been applied to the making of

doll A doll is a physical model, model typically of a human or humanoid character, often used as a toy for children. Dolls have also been used in traditional religious rituals throughout the world. Traditional dolls made of materials such as clay and ...

s and pictures on other authorized products, notably leather purses. His pictures are characterized by their use of striking, bold colours and depict central figures that often appear small in the foreground, suggesting the viewpoint of a child in the wide, sometimes sinister, world, or to hint at loneliness. In June 2019, Jimmy Liao was the Guest of Honor of the ''Comicfestival'' in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Publications

*''

Beautiful Solitude ''Beautiful Solitude'' (, which literally means "Lonely and Wonderful,") is a picture book, authored and illustrated by Jimmy Liao, completed in 2003. The book was created when Jimmy Liao was diagnosed with leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled le ...

'' *'' Sound of Colors'', translated by Sarah L. Thomson (

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

, 2006). *'' Starry Starry Night'' *''

The Floating Landscape ''The Floating Landscape'' is a 2003 Hong Kong romance film written and directed by Carol Lai and starring Ekin Cheng, Karena Lam and Liu Ye. The film was shown in competition for the Golden Lion at the 60th Venice International Film Festival. ...

'' *''The Rainbow of Time'', translated by Wang Xinlin and Andrea Lingenfelter
Balestier Press
2015) *''

'' *''

When the Moon Forgot ''When the Moon Forgot'' (originally published in Taiwan as 月亮忘記了 'The Moon Forgets'' is a children's book originally written in Chinese by Jimmy Liao in 1999. It was later translated into English in 2009 and published by Little, Bro ...

'', translated to English in 2009 and published by Little, Brown and Company.

References

External links

*
Jimmy Liao
at

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

* 1958 births Living people Taiwanese illustrators Taiwanese writers People from Yilan County, Taiwan {{Taiwan-writer-stub