Keynote speaker Oliver Jeffers is both an author and a visual artist. His work includes bookmaking, painting, illustration, performance collage, and sculpture. Oliver is an artist and storyteller who mixes curiosity with comedy.

Everything he does serves as both an investigation into how the human mind perceives the world and a source of comic relief in the face of futility. Jeffers’ work has reached people all over the world. His picture books are available in 45 different languages. Oliver sold more than 12 million copies. The Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Palais Auersperg in Vienna, and the National Portrait Gallery in London have all displayed his artistic work. 

Speaker Oliver Jeffers has obtained several awards, including the Bologna Rigazzi Award, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award, a United Kingdom Literary Association Award, and an Irish Book Award. Oliver was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York.

In October 2021, Oliver published his latest book, There A Ghost in This House. The book is about a young girl who lives alone in an old house and believes it is haunted, even though she cannot see any ghosts around her.

Jeffers’ illustrations are famous for their subtle narratives and effective use of space in the overall composition. Oliver has also worked as a freelance illustrator for Lavazza, Orange UK, RCA Records, and Sony PSP. He has also done work for Newsweek, United Airlines, and Wired.

Oliver’s work comprises figurative paintings on canvas and three-dimensional objects. His show Additional Information explored the relationship between content and form. Jeffers was also the two-time winner of the Prix des libraires du Québec international youth award. He won the award first in 2017 and then in 2020.