Dilys Evans is the president of Dilys Evans Fine Illustration, (DEFI) the company she founded in 1978 representing many of the finest illustrators (and author/illustrators) in children’s books today. During the course of her 25 years in business, her artists have won 2 gold Caldecott medals and 3 silver.

In 2002, the Dilys Evans Children’s Book Agency was ranked number 7 in the country. This ranking was based upon sales of books and number of weeks consistently on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children’s Picture Books.

DEFI has represented artists for a total of 811 published books plus scores of books packaged by the Lucas/Evans collaboration between 1983 and 1988.

A painter, a past art director of Cricket magazine, and a contributing writer to The Horn Book, Booklinks, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. Dilys Evans is also a Curator of exhibitions of children’s book illustrators, a compiler of the anthologies, Monster Soup, Weird Pet Poems, and the newest anthology, Fairies Trolls and Goblins Galore from Simon and Schuster. Currently, she is at work on a chapter book for Scholastic, and a book, which will explore the Fine Art of children’s books illustration through both conversations with 12 very different illustrators and full-color representative examples of their work. Dilys Evans is a much sought-after speaker on The Fine Art of Children’s Books, and the world of children’s publishing. Her particular passion is centered on promoting the importance of children’s book illustration and the need to recognize it as a fine art form.

In 1979, she founded The Original Art Exhibition at the Master Eagle Gallery in New York, a combined picture book and original art event featuring the most outstanding children’s books published each year. Today, in its 23 year, The Original Art Exhibition has a permanent home at The Society of Illustrators in New York, and has become a major annual exhibition. In 1998, the Society awarded Dilys the Arthur William Brown Achievement Award for establishing the Original Art Exhibition. Dilys continues to oversee this annual event.

Born in Teignmouth, S. Devon, England she came to the United States in 1959 and studied painting, drawing, and composition at The New School, The Art Students’ League, and The Riverside Museum. A major influence in her work as a painter comes from the five years she lived and worked in the studio of Nell Blaine, the New York painter. In 1970, she received an invitation to Yaddo, a prestigious art colony in Saratoga Springs and while painting there completed much of the work for her one-woman show held at the Green Mountain Gallery in New York City the next year.

Dilys now commutes between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and her offices in Connecticut and New York.