Amaya James is a 12-year-old illustrator and author from Ontario, Canada. She began drawing seriously at just four years old, starting with simple sketches and YouTube tutorials before developing her own creative style.

Amaya enjoys working in both traditional and digital mediums. Whether she is sketching in a notebook or creating digitally on her iPad using Procreate, her imagination is always at work. She often discovers characters hidden in everyday shapes, objects, and moments around her. For Amaya, a simple doodle rarely stays just a drawing. It quickly becomes a character with a personality, a story, and a world of its own. Recently, she has also begun exploring animation and is teaching herself Blender.

At just nine years old, Amaya published her first children's book, Afro, No!, which she illustrated herself. The story celebrates identity, confidence, and the unique relationship many young Black girls have with their hair. Since its release, the book has taken Amaya on a growing school tour across several school boards, where she shares her artwork, creative process, and love of storytelling with students.

Amaya is now preparing to release her second book, Emmie’s Next Chapter, a highly illustrated, fast-paced graphic chapter book that blends humor, expressive drawings, and short bursts of storytelling. The book follows her main character, Emmie, as she navigates change, learns to embrace new experiences, and discovers that trying something unfamiliar can lead to unexpected adventures.

Through her school visits and creative work, Amaya hopes to encourage other young people to explore their creativity and realize that big ideas can start at any age.

And when she’s not drawing… well, honestly, she’s always drawing.