Ian Wallace is an award-winning author and illustrator whose work has contributed to the development of Canadian children's publishing. A graduate of the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University), he joined Kids Can Press in 1974, when it was a pioneering collective of writers and artists. Among his early publications was The Sandwich, created with Angela Wood (1975). His career continued in Canada with Groundwood Books (1981 to present) and several American publishers.
Over a career spanning more than five decades, Wallace has published 29 titles celebrating the breadth and diversity of Canada's cultures, communities, people and landscapes, from sea to sea to sea. His work explores subjects of historical, cultural and contemporary interest through the distinctive combination of storytelling and visual interpretation that characterizes his picture books. As an author and illustrator, his books include Chin Chiang and the Dragon's Dance, Boy of the Deeps, Duncan's Way and The Naked Lady. He has also illustrated notable works by Jan Andrews's Very Last First Time, Celia Barker Lottridge's The Name of the Tree and Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railroad Trilogy.
His many honours include the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award and three IODE Jean Throop Book Awards. He was the first recipient of the Mr. Christie Children's Book Award for illustration for The Name of the Tree, which was later selected as the Mr. Christie Children’s Choice Award marking the award’s 10th anniversary. He was Canada's 1994 nominee for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration.
In 2008, his hometown of Niagara Falls inducted him into its Arts and Culture Wall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to literature and the visual arts.
