Frenci (Francesca) Sanna (they/them) is an illustrator and picture book author from Sardinia, currently living and drawing in Switzerland.

Their books have been translated into more than 20 languages and their work has been recognised, amongst others, by the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, 3×3 magazine, Communication Art, Kirkus Reviews, Publisher Weekly, The Guardian and The New York Times.

They graduated in Architecture in Italy, before they decided to move from their beloved island to Germany first and then Switzerland where they studied design and illustration in Basel and Lucerne and attended a summer program at the School of Visual Arts in New York. After they graduated they spent several months in London as research fellow for The Reluctant Internationalists Group at Birbeck, University of London, working on one of their books, Me and My Fear.

They are currently based in Zurich, but they often are on the move to see new places and work on new projects. Frenci really likes the sea, gelato, and her very old cat Berta. 

Books
If you were a city, by Kyo Maclear, Chronicle Books, 2022
The More You Give,
by Marcy Campbell, Knopf Books, 2022
Perkin’s Perfect Purple, by Tami Lewis Brown and Debbie Loren Dunn, Little Brown, 2020
My Friend Earth, by Patricia MacLachlan, Chronicle Books, 2020
Move Mr. Mountain!, Templar Books, 2019
Me and My Fear, Flying Eye Books, 2018
Andersen  – The Little Mermaid, Little Gestalten, 2017
Ein Loch Gegen den Regen, by Daniel Fehr, Atlantis, 2016
The Journey, Flying Eye Books, 2016

⚀ You can find Frenci on Instagram too