The Arrival

Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne.

Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Books such as The Rabbits , The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar's WALL-E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia; his most recently published book is Tales from Outer Suburbia.

Shaun is the winner of the 2011 Astrid Lindgren prize, the world's richest children's literature award. The awad described Shaun as 'a masterly visually storyteller'.

The Lost Thing animation recently won an Oscar for the best animated short film.

...a remarkable and skilful work of art. -- Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times This book should be 'read' by adults and children alike. It's astonishing. -- Marilyn Brocklehurst, Norfolk Children's Book Centre With this haunting, wordless sequence about a lonely emigrant in a bewildering city, Tan ... finds in the graphic novel format an ideal outlet for his sublime imagination... few will remain unaffected by this timeless stunner. -- Publishers Weekly Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form. -- Booklist ...an unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect. -- Kirkus Reviews Tan's lovingly laid out and masterfully rendered tale about the immigrant experience is a documentary magically told by way of Surrealism. -- Art Spiegelman, author of Maus: A Survivor's Tale The Arrival is an absolute wonder. It's not often you see art of this quality, or a book that's so brave. -- Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis and Embroideries Shaun Tan delivers a shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city... The Arrival is one of the best graphic novels of the year! -- Jeff Smith, author of Bone Entirely wordless, but brimming with sounds and conversations in foreign tongues, Shaun Tan's book emanates the warmth of faded photographs... -- Craig Thompson, author of Blankets The Arrival is beautiful... The drawings are just so lovely, endlessly detailed and wonderfully strange. And the design of the book, with it's wrinkled pages and stains and broken leather is marvellous. -- Brian Selznick, author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret Anyone who thinks that the graphic novel is no more than a flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, ought to take a look at "The Arrival." This magnificent work not only establishes itself in a major new literary genre but

All ages respond to this moving picture book, a moving tribute to displaced people. (The Sunday Times' 100 Best Children's Books) The Sunday Times 20141005