Hello! I am Lenny Wen

I am a children’s book author and illustrator born in Indonesia. Since I was a kid, I loved nothing more than telling stories with drawings and filling out papers—including my school textbooks—with doodles. Stories and imagination are my safe places to escape from my challenging childhood.

Despite juggling studies, a day job, and helping my parents at their stall, I always retained my love of storytelling and illustration. I pursued my passion by working late into the night on children’s book illustrations. Although the path was challenging, I persevered and have since illustrated several children’s books in Indonesia.

In 2016, I took a leap of faith and left my day job to focus on illustration full-time. I continued to work with publishers across Asia and self-published authors before signing with The Cat Agency in 2019. Since then, I have illustrated several books including OLD FRIENDS by Margaret Aitken, HOW WE SAY I LOVE YOU by Nicole Chen, and SMILING EYES by Linda Sue Park. I also wrote and illustrated SPICY SPICY HOT! and WOLFGANG IN THE MEADOW.

When I am not illustrating or writing, you can find me obsessively staring at the trees, scribbling bears in my sketchbook, filling my cups with coffee, or walking with my familiar in the woods. I am currently living in the countryside of Austria.

Selected Clients

  • HarperCollins
  • Penguin Random House
  • Macmillan
  • Little, Brown for Young Readers
  • Simon and Schuster
  • Candlewick Press
  • Disney Hyperion
  • Norton Young Readers
  • Google
  • SourceBooks
  • Scholastic
  • Storytime Magazine
  • Crocodile Creek
  • Hansol Education
  • Singapore Symphony Orchestra
  • Brazen Animation

Interview

Girl’s Club Asia
Writing and Illustrating

Illo.Chat

SCBWI Featured Illustrator

Honors

SCBWI Winter Conference 2021 Portfolio Showcase Honor Award

Represented by

Follow me on Goodreads

My Bookshop.org affiliate shop:

https://bookshop.org/shop/lennywen