Hi! My name is Emma Fisher.
I’m an illustrator based in San Francisco and New York City.
I write and illustrate stories for curious readers of all ages. With an interest in hybrid forms and unexpected transformations of the book, I am drawn to projects that blur traditional boundaries of genre and age group.
Rooted in play and experimentation, my work layers printmaking, painting, and collage to create richly textured compositions. Much of my storytelling engages with the myths and fairy tales I loved as a child, using them as a starting point to explore changes wrought on the body by disability and illness, as well as to stoke wonder at the natural world.
I carry my sketchbook everywhere, drawing equal inspiration from city streets and tree-covered landscapes.
In 2025, I earned my MFA in illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York, receiving the Paula Rhodes Memorial Award for my thesis, an illustrated middle grade novel called The Blackthorn Woods. I graduated from Brown University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in art history and in 2023, completed an advanced certificate in disability studies through the City University of New York (CUNY).
I am currently seeking representation.
Exhibitions
Once Upon a Page: Highlights from the School of Visual Arts’ MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Program, The Brooklyn Public Library, 2025-2026
SVA MFA Illustration as Visual Essay “Selections from Thesis Projects,” curated by Cecilia Ruiz at SVA Chelsea Gallery, 2025
dRAW, curated by Carol Fabricatore at SVA Gramercy Gallery, 2025
The Book Show, curated by Riccardo Vecchio and Anna Raff at SVA Gramercy Gallery, 2025
The Human Fly, curated by Viktor Koen at SVA Chelsea Gallery, 2024
Awards
Paula Rhodes Memorial Award, School of Visual Arts, 2025
SCBWI San Francisco/South Emerging Artist Portfolio Award, 2025