Vera Brosgol

Vera Brosgol (1984-) is a prominent Portland-based filmmaker, cartoonist, storyboard artist, illustrator, graphic novelist, and children’s book writer. She was born in Moscow, Russia. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1989 through a Jewish refugee program and settled in upstate New York. Her upbringing included listening to her mother read Russian fairytales. The folktale illustrations of Russian artist Ivan Bilibin had a great influence on her.

Shy and unsure of her English, Vera discovered that drawing and making illustrated books was the best way to express herself and to create her own world of imagination and magic. She liked to spend time reading in the school library across from her home and taking art classes. As she matured, she developed a fascination with cartoons and animation.

She graduated from Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada with a major in classical animation. There she collaborated with Jenn Kluska and Sam Allison on the animated film Snow-Bo (2005), which was awarded the Nelvana Independent Short Film Prize. After graduation, she worked at LAIKA Studios outside Portland, OR. She also contributed several graphic short stories to Kazu Kibuishi’s Flight series and started working on a graphic novel of her own.

Vera ultimately decided to devote herself fully to her own creative work, which has garnered significant critical acclaim. Her graphic novel, Anya’s Ghost (2011), received an Eisner Award for the Best Publication for Young Adults. Her picture book, Leave Me Alone! (2016), was awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal. In addition to these award-winning books, Vera has authored several other celebrated books, including Be Prepared (2018), a graphic novel based on her childhood memories of attending a Russian summer camp in the U.S., and two picture books, The Little Guys (2019) and Memory Jars (2021). She has also served as the illustrator for A Spoonful of Frogs: A Halloween Book for Kids (2022) among other books.

Vera’s work has been included in such compilations as Fable Comics and The Best American Comics. Her books have been translated into Chinese, Czech, French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.