Maree Coote is author and illustrator of three award-winning local histories and more than 20 children’s books with high-concept Design and Art themes, each with a notable sense of place. Coote has maintained a prolific output since 2003. She is also renowned for her fresh and playful take on typography that blurs the boundaries between word and image. Her unique ‘Letter Art’ or ‘Fontigram’ typographic style has generated exciting collaborations and numerous exhibitions in Italy and in South Korea. Coote’s books have been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council Awards in Australia; won the Non Fiction Mention Prize at the Bologna Ragazzi Fiere in 2017, and been awarded South Korea’s Nami Concours 2017 Distinction Prize, the Royal Historical Society of Victoria Gold Award 2012, Silver for Best Illustration in Moonbeam Awards USA, 2018, and three times Gold for Best Regional Book in the USA Independent Publisher Awards USA in 2014, 2015 and 2023.