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Abigail Balfe

Author & Illustrator | Top 50 Influential Neurodivergent Women 2023

Abigail Balfe is a queer neurodivergent author and illustrator based in Brighton, UK, represented by Emily Talbot at United Agents Ltd.12 She identifies as autistic and ADHD (auDHD) and has gained recognition for her work in children's literature and creative production.13

Career Highlights

Author and Illustrator:: Balfe's debut middle-grade illustrated children's book, "A Different Sort of Normal," was published by Puffin/Penguin Random House as their lead non-fiction debut of 2021.1 This book, which tells her real-life story of growing up autistic and undiagnosed, received critical acclaim:

  • Shortlisted for Children's Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the 2022 British Book Awards
  • Longlisted for Best Book with Facts at the Blue Peter Books Awards 2021

Creative Producer:: Balfe is also an Emmy award-winning creative producer.1 She worked in TV & Entertainment from 2011 to 2023, creating social media marketing campaigns for major clients like One Direction, Little Mix, and Netflix.1

Education and Skills

Balfe is a graduate of Cambridge School of Art's MA Children's Book Illustration program.1 She works with both digital and traditional media, focusing on bright colors, pattern design, and limited color pencil drawings.1 Her creative approach often involves exploring the relationship between text and image, and she has even designed her own fonts.1

Additional Roles and Interests

  • Reiki Master, offering distance healing sessions
  • Musician and composer (she composed the piano soundtrack for the audiobook version of "A Different Sort of Normal")
  • Public speaker on autism, neurodiversity, and disability inclusion in publishing and entertainment1

Abigail Balfe has been recognized as one of the Top 50 Influential Neurodivergent Women in 2023.4 Her LinkedIn username is indeed abigailbalfe, where she shares more about her professional journey and achievements.2

Highlights

Aug 29 · linkedin

9 years ago I joined a little startup called Social Life as their first social media producer across TV & entertainment brands.

5 years later we’d grown so fast we were acquired by global marketing agency, Jellyfish and had taken over a floor of The Shard.

Now, I’m taking my first steps towards becoming a full time author and illustrator by saying goodbye to agency life and my role as Creative Director at Jellyfish - with a lot of gratitude and fond memories.

From my very first project live tweeting backstage in The X Factor canteen, to winning an actual Emmy award for Netflix’s Big Mouth - It’s been a wild, amazing and sometimes surreal ride.

I’m also grateful to have been part of a number of DEIB projects in recent years representing queer, neurodivergent and disabled employees; launching the Disability ERG and being a Future Frontiers Career Coach for disadvantaged secondary school pupils in London.

And now… it’s time for the next chapter. (Literally as I’m working on my next book after I post this, ha)

Forever grateful to Laura-May Coope and Alistair Parrington for trusting me as their first-real-employee-person all those years ago, and to Jellyfish for welcoming us into their global community. Best of luck to everyone at Jellyfish/BrandTech for the next part of your journey.

And thank you SO much to everyone who has bought, shared and messaged me about my books over the past couple of years - you’ve really helped me believe I can do this and I’m so excited to show you what’s coming next 🥰❤️💪

May 16 · linkedin

Hi everyone! I’m a Future Frontiers coach for two 15 year-olds at a school in London and need a bit of help.

The idea is to raise aspirations for young people from low economic backgrounds by encouraging them to consider jobs they might never have thought about.

Part of the programme involves speaking to someone who has experience in the pupil’s dream role or industry, which is a really exciting opportunity for them.

So, I’m currently looking for someone who works in Law and someone who works in Accounting & Finance who could have a chat with them about their everyday work life via a short video call on Wed May 24th.

Student A’s preferred job roles:

  • Criminologist
  • Criminal Lawyer
  • Forensic Psychologist
  • Coroner

Student B’s preferred job roles:

  • Accountant
  • Banker
  • Someone who deals with daily cashflow

Can you help? We would be so grateful for your time. Thank you!

#Coaching #Mentoring #Law #Criminology #CriminalLawyer #ForensicPsychology #Finance #Accountant #Banking #CareerCoaching #FutureFrontiers

Related Questions

What inspired Abigail Balfe to write "A Different Sort of Normal"?
How does Abigail Balfe incorporate her neurodivergent experiences into her work?
What other projects is Abigail Balfe currently working on?
How did Abigail Balfe transition from TV and entertainment to children's book illustration?
What are some of Abigail Balfe's favorite themes to explore in her illustrations?
Abigail Balfe
Abigail Balfe, photo 1
Abigail Balfe, photo 2
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Location

Brighton, England, United Kingdom