Agija Staka

Is a graduate of Riga Applied Art School, and the Graphic Design and Visual Communication Departments of the Latvian Academy of Art. She has obtained a Master’s Degree in Art (2000). She started working as a book illustrator in 1991. Since 2004 she is a member of the Association of Illustrators. In collaboration with various publishing houses, she has illustrated more than 100 books. She regularly holds exhibitions of her illustrations and meets her readers.

In recent years, since 2006, more than 50 books have been published by Zvaigzne ABC, and A. Staka has created original illustrations for half of these. These include several books in the series Lasītprieks, such as “First about Leksītis...and then about Hedgehog Nezis” by Ē. Kūlis (Vispirms par Leksīti...un tad par ezi Nezi. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 2009). The works in this series have received acclaim: A. Staka has received the 1999 Spring Prize for the book “Ozols” Book: an Imaginary Detective Story with a Chase” (Ozola grāmata: fantastisks detektīvs ar pakaļdzīšanos. V. Rūmnieks. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 1998) and the 2007 Pastariņš Prize for the book “The Green Cod” (Zaļā menca. M. Rungulis. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 2006).
In 2010 the artist was nominated for the Jānis Baltvilks Prize for the book “Egg School” (Olu skola. M. Rungulis. R.: Zvaigzne ABC, 2010).

For 20 years, drawing children’s book illustrations has been my job, for 30 years it’s been my hobby, and for 40 years now I’ve simply enjoyed it. (Agija Staka)