Kam Mak

Born in Hong Kong, Kam Mak grew up in New York City’s Chinatown after his family moved to the United States in 1971. Kam’s involvement with City Art Workshop, an organization designed to encourage the art interests of inner city youth, inspired his love of painting. He earned his bachelor of fine arts degree in 1984 from New York’s School of Visual Arts where he studied on a full scholarship.

Mak’s richly colored paintings have illustrated the covers of numerous magazines and books including his first offering as both author and illustrator, My Chinatown: One Year in Poems, about a little boy growing up in Chinatown. In addition to My Chinatown, books for which he won acclaim include The Dragon Prince by Laurence Yep, The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean, The Year of the Panda by Miriam Schlein, and The Moon of the Monarch Butterflies by Jean Craighead George.

Among his many awards are the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award for best children’s picture book, the National Parenting Publications Gold Medal, and gold and silver medals, plus the Stevan Dohanos Award, from the Society of Illustrators. Mak is an Associate Professor of Illustration at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. He lives in Brooklyn with his family.

Mak was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to design the 12-year stamp series Celebrating Lunar New Year that began in 2008 and will continue through 2019.