Helen is an award-winning Scottish artist, author, and educator based in Glasgow. At the heart of her practice is a love of drawing, narrative, and making picture books; however, she is always keen to collaborate and take on new projects. View some of her latest projects and commissions here.

Helen regularly provides workshops and events to children and adults in schools, libraries, and colleges. She also has extensive experience working on co-design alongside young people, families, and communities, most notably in her work with Glencairn House Museum and Library, and with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

Helen is currently an Author in Residence with the Scottish Book Trust and is working on her 5th book. She registered with Live Literature Scotland.

SELECTED CLIENTS

Thames & Hudson, Walker Books, Scholastic, Page\Park, the Scottish Book Trust, BBC, BBC ALBA, the University of the West of Scotland, Creative Carbon Scotland.

RESIDENCIES

Boswell Book Festival x Royal Drawing School, Dumfries House, Artist in Residence, May 2026
Scottish Book Trust Author in Residence, August 2025 - June 2026
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Artist in Residence, Aug 2025 - 2026

AWARDS

Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Illustrated Book, 2022 (shortlisted)
The Klaus Flugge Prize, 2020 (shortlisted)
Picture Hook Illustrator of the Year Award, 2019 (winner)
The Moniack Mhor Writing for Children Award, 2019 (winner)
GSA Chairman’s Medal for Design, 2018 (winner)
The Batsford Prize, Children's Illustration, 2018 (winner)
The Macmillan Book Prize, 2018 (highly commended)
Penguin Random House Student Design Award, 2018 (highly commended)
The Adobe Design Achievement Awards, 2018 (semi-finalist)

INTERVIEWS/REVIEWS/PRESS

The Sunday Post, 2024
In the Line of Beauty, The Herald, 2020
Shortlist Sketchbook, Klaus Flugge Prize, 2020
Picture Hooks Illustrator 2019, The Bookseller, 2019
Interview: Helen Kellock on The Star in the Forest, Thames and Hudson, 2019
The Star in the Forest Review, Kirkus, 2019
Helen Kellock: MDes Illustration Exhibition, The Glasgow School of Art, 2018

CONTACT

Children’s book enquiries: lucy@jennybrownassociates.com
General enquiries: helenkellock@gmail.com

INSTAGRAM

It is the month of book launches!
🎉 Since January, I have had the privilege of working with the P6 class of Anderston Primary to research and creatively represent the birds found in the local Anderston area. The project was inspired by the world-fa
Over the last year, I have had the pleasure of working with this absolutely smashing class of P2s at Cranhill Primary School. I love working with children and regularly visit schools across Scotland, but this was the first time I have been able to wo
While I've been here during my residency at @dumfrieshouse I've had a defiant little line by Mary Oliver repeating over and over in my head: 'Tell me, what else should I have done?' It is a line from her famous poem 'The Summer Day' (which I have cop
I want to say a huge thank you to @royaldrawingschool, @dumfrieshouse, and @boswellbookfestival for this residency opportunity. For the last two weeks, I’ve been here working in this lovely big studio, surrounded by the beautiful grounds of Dum
What a gorgeous weekend this has been at the @boswellbookfestival. Sun, birds, books, walking, drawing and being in the company of @vivianfrench75 - what more could I ask for?! As part of the festival, I led a drawing workshop in the forest (swipe to
The Lost Gemstone is out now! Swipe to see some final snippets from a couple of my favourite pages, including the promised giant, granny snail and flute-playing seal.
One of my favourite parts of working on this book series has been designing the endpapers and title pages of the books. There was a lot of world-building to convey, so I really tried to maximise every page to capture a strong sense of place and story
Say hello to the devious, mischievous villain in The Lost Gemstone… Sookie!
 Sookie—the gemstone thief—started out as a sketch of a puffin in my sketchbook and ended up looking like a hybrid of a puffin and a pudgy penguin. I had
After scribbling down those sketches on that windy perch on Skye (see previous post), the Rocklings stayed in my sketchbook for a few years, but I kept coming back to them and eventually decided to bring them to life in this second book.
 Here they
Can’t find enough books with talking rocks, giant elderly snails, or full-bodied, flute-playing seals??? Fear not—I’ve got you covered!
 Way back in 2021, when I was cooking up the idea for the Isle of Begg series, I spent time dra
The second tale from the Isle of Begg is out on Thursday this week! It's a perfect day on the Isle of Begg. Perfect, that is, until Bumple and Little Mop discover that a fearsome beastie has stolen a magic gemstone from their friends the rocklings.
I illustrated the cover design for this year’s Boswell Book Festival. (Layout design by Johnston Montgomery Marketing & Design.) They were looking for something eye catching, inspired by nature and in-line with their branding coloursIt was