Born in Germany and raised in New York City, Vesper Stamper has been an illustrator for over 20 years and also writes and illustrates novels of historical fiction, including her newest novel, A Cloud of Outrageous Blue, about the Great Plague of 1348. Her debut illustrated YA novel, What the Night Sings, about the experience of teenager after the Holocaust , was a National Book Award Nominee, a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, a Morris Award Finalist, Golden Kite Honor Book and Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner, and was named one of the Best YA Books of 2018/9 by YALSA, the Wall Street Journal and Kirkus. Vesper has a BFA in Illustration from Parsons and an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from School of Visual Arts and is the host of the podcast Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking for Yourself, which aims to cultivate a rehumanized worldview through artistic thinking. She lives with her husband, filmmaker Ben Stamper, and her two teenagers, in the Northeast.
Since Vesper is an author-illustrator, she’s able to bring an immense amount of value to your school or community. High school, college, museum or other visits can include: Book presentation with film and talk; Q&A and signing; Art and writing class critiques; Art technique workshops; Portfolio reviews for aspiring college applicants and students; Holocaust history lessons; Music history/ appreciation classes,…and more! Her latest book, Berliners, will be released in October 2022.