Illustrator Onyinye Iwu was born in Italy to Nigerian parents and moved to the UK as a teenager. She has a first degree in Architecture, a Postgraduate Education certificate in Design Technology and a Masters degree in Culture Diaspora Ethnicity. She teaches design and aims to be a role model and inspiration to young black people living in the diaspora
In her work, Onyinye focuses on the representation of people of African and Caribbean background. She has designed a wide range of book covers, including for Cassava Republic's romance imprint Ankara Press, and for the UK edition of Nnedi Okorafor’s award-winning title What Sunny Saw in the Flames. Her latest work is illustrating Sala Mountain Warrior (Otter-Barry Books) by Wakanyi Hoffman. Set in the Samburu region of northern Kenya, this is an exciting, inspirational story about courage and empowerment.
Onyinye is a fluent Italian speaker and lived in Brescia, Italy until the age of 13. She now lives, teaches and draws in London.
