Part author – Illustrator – filmmaker Vashti Harrison is an artist originally from Onley, Virginia. She has a background in cinematography and screenwriting and a love for storytelling.
She earned her BA from the University of Virginia with a double major in Media Studies and Studio Art with concentrations in Film and Cinematography. She received her MFA in Film and Video from CalArts where she snuck into the Animation Department to learn from Disney and Dreamworks legends. There she rekindled a love for drawing and painting. Now, utilizing both skill sets, she is passionate about crafting beautiful stories in both the film and kidlit worlds.
Her Experimental films and videos focus on her Caribbean Heritage and folklore. They have shown around the world at film festivals and venues including the New York Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Little leaders series
Little leaders was Vashti’s debut book series. Based on her popular Instagram posts from Black History Month in 2017, her debut book Little Leaders: Bold women in Black History, features 40 biographies of African American women that helped shape history. It is a 96-page paper over board book published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers. Harrison created an adaptation of her original book and features 18 trailblazing black women. A perfect goodnight book written for toddlers.
Vashti’s series now boasts six books and is still growing!
Words from a Black Woman 