Shalini Soni Mazumdar is a children’s book illustrator based in India, with a focus on storytelling through picture books, board books, early readers, and nonfiction.
She grew up surrounded by stories — the kind passed around at home, told over chai, or at bedtime, from her mother and grandmother. Illustrated books quickly became her favourite kind of storytelling.
She has illustrated 12+ books for publishers in India and abroad, including Juggernaut Books, Om Books, and Wonder House, as well as for independent authors.
Her work is often shaped by the questions and wonder of her son — whose love for books continues to influence how she approaches emotion, rhythm, and meaning in her visuals.
Shalini has been part of SCBWI since 2020 and Illustrators for Hire since 2022. In 2025, she attended the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, where she connected with illustrators and publishers from around the world and came back with plenty of ideas and a stronger sense of direction for her work.