Naomi Canale is a writer and multidisciplinary artist drawn most to visual storytelling through children’s books, and printmaking. As a child, she was the class clown who struggled to read, but found the love of art through picture books. Long involved with The Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators, she has been mentored by wonderful artists and authors such as Ellen Hopkins, Susan Hart Lindquist, and C.S. Jennings; and has served as Co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI Nevada. Originally a self-taught artist always working with a mix of mediums; some of which she uses to create three-dimensional dragons for her local bookshop, paint murals, or to illustrate pictures, she entered college for a degree in the arts after being diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult. She now works in a library. She illustrates mostly with traditional materials like colored pencils, pens, watercolor, and lately she’s experimenting with monoprint.

Clients:

Magnolia Network’s Public Artist and Storefront Stories (including streaming platform HBO Max, Apple TV, and Discovery+). Fabled Bookshop, Salon Asylum, and Artprenticeship through Creative Waco.

Prizes and Honorable Mentions:

2024 Milkwood Residency

2024 Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award Nominee

2023 ARTprenticeship Mentor through Creative Waco

2023 Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award Nominee

2022 Grand Prize Portfolio Winner Austin SCBWI

2022 Emerging Voice Illustrator Mentorship Winner Austin SCBWI

2022 Public Artist, Magnolia Network

2017 Hood River Breakout Novel Intensive Full Scholarship Recipient

Exhibitions:

23 Ritual an international Juried Exhibition of Book Art,

Presented by 23 Sandy and Baylor University Libraries - 2025 piece titled Being Held; a ritual

507 Gallery - 2024 solo exhibition titled The Waiting Room

Art Center Waco - 2024 juried exhibition titled Eclipse: Shining Shadows

Art Center Waco - 2024 juried exhibition titled Small Works

Children’s Books:

Tiger’s Night Out (on submission early 2025)

Fiona’s Words (currently on submission)

Education:

McLennan Community College - Associate of Arts

Baylor University - BFA Printmaking (in-progress)

Naomi is a member of SCBWI and represented by Timothy Travaglini of Transatlantic Agency If you’d like to work with her on a book, you can reach out to her agent at tim@transatlanticagency.com. For other inquiries you can contact her here.