Meet Nadia Fisher

We recently connected with Nadia Fisher and have shared our conversation below.

Nadia, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I have always been more of a creative, but my journey with art took a detour when I went college and then law school, and I had to put it on pause. Art was always my safe space — it felt more like self-care than a “hobby.” It was an outlet for my emotions and felt grounding. After I I had my daughter, I found my way back to art and started posting online just to motivate me to keep going. I think I originally wanted to create a line of tees and something like character pillows for kids, but didn’t know exactly where to start, so I just kept painting. Maybe I’ll come back to that some day. Around that time, I remember taking my daughter to the library and noticing that there weren’t a lot of books with characters that either looked like her or that covered her similar interests, and I started thinking about how I could help kids feel seen. I started to think about book illustration as a path forward.

I began considering the idea of me illustrating books for children more seriously at the beginning of 2020, right before the pandemic, and then, when the lockdown started, I focused on my art and creating every day. The summer of 2020, helped me find my own voice again, and I used art as an outlet to share my feelings and as a way to hopefully inspire others to make the world a better place for everyone. I found my passion for education, voting rights, and community. At the same time, I took courses for children’s book illustration because I wanted to focus on lifting up and inspiring hope in young people.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a children’s book author and illustrator from Washington, DC, and I enjoy bringing stories to life. I am drawn to stories that are heartfelt, joyful, and inclusive. I have illustrated several children’s books, including ranging from picture books to middle grade covers, and I have my debut author-illustrator picture book, AT THE COOKOUT, coming out in 2026 with Putnam.

I absolutely love what I do. When I work with other authors, I enjoy helping bringing stories to life through the artwork. As an author-illustrator, I get to tell stories from my heart, and they’re stories that I hope will leave readers smiling and/or inspired. I love that books not only help connect people from different backgrounds and different experiences, but they can also allow people to feel heard or seen, and I think everyone deserves that.

My most recent project that has been released is Little People, BIG DREAMS: SIMONE BILES by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara through Quarto Kids, and my next project, I AM THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE, written by Jemar Tisby and Malcolm Newsome, releases on January 7, 2025 and is available for pre-order. I also run an online shop where I sell art prints and sometimes stickers. Some of the prints are donation works where the proceeds go to charitable organizations.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think my love of art, story telling/writing, and background in law helped shape who I am as a creative. I am a self-taught artist, and I feel like I’m always learning more and grow as an illustrator. I’ve loved creating my own stories and sharing them with others since grade school, and in undergrad, I was and English major with a concentration in writing. I’ve always had a passion for community and for justice, and some of my law school courses helped me gain a deeper knowledge regarding certain issues. Law school also honed my research skills, and they come in handy when I’m doing research for my books.

For people interested in getting into illustration, children’s book illustration, and/or writing, I’d encourage them to keep making art, to keep writing, and to look for courses that are specific to what they want to do, but the most important thing is to keep going. Follow that passion and connect with people who are doing to the same.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I think it depends. Definitely go in on your strengths and stay true to yourself, but you can grow at the same time. For example, I found it challenging to draw people because I was used to drawing more animals and other non-human characters, but I really wanted to improve my skills and feel comfortable drawing people. I started a 100 day challenge of just doing portraits, and over that time, I improved, became more comfortable, and I found my style. It was something that I wanted, and needed, to do since I wanted to illustrate children in the book world. I would encourage people to explore areas that are of interest, but maybe that they don’t feel as confident in yet, in order to push themselves further.

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Nadia Fisher

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