“I believe that we were all born to expand, not to shrink. That creative expression connects our individual lived experiences to the collective human experience; that storytelling is integral to our shared humanity; and art is a universal language that speaks to the worlds within us, granting us infinite access for growth.”
Malgosia’s background is in Landscape Architecture Design and Journalism, but her first loves in life were reading, drawing and telling stories. Loves that are deeply steeped in her Polish heritage of storytellers, artists, folklore and lived experiences.
With her storytelling she aims to guide kids through emotional awareness, acceptance and celebration of oneself and others. She does this through stories of adversity and reflection; subjects she continually revisits from her experience leaving communist Poland and immigrating to Germany in a time of discrimination against eastern European refugees, her immigration to Canada, and later France as an adult.
“Books quickly became worlds I could safely visit, when the circumstances around me didn’t feel safe.”
She learned to tell her stories in a light-hearted and humorous way, despite the potential for heaviness in the subject matter, but without sacrificing the depth of the lessons. Her goal is to provoke thought in the reader by inspiring them to peel back the layers within the story each time they revisit it.
“It is important to me that the illustrations in my picture books deepen and expand the narrative instead of only serving as an echo for the words.”
Now, as a mother, her storytelling is further influenced by life viewed through her young child’s lens. This is her constant inspiration in how to communicate big world issues to little people, so that they are prepared for the world they live in, and not a world that doesn’t exist (yet).
Since embarking on this journey in 2010 and feeling encouraged by her first two self-published books winning industry recognition and awards, her continued focus is to make writing and illustrating her life’s work. It has been an adventure in trusting in the process and she is excited to publish the 40 kid’s books patiently waiting in queue, while completing a graphic novel series for YA readers.
