Shahab Shamshiraz author page

Shahab Shamshiraz biography

Shahab Shamshiraz is the spelling used in The Week Junior Book Awards 2026 shortlist for The Other Father Christmas. Storymix Books, the publisher of the title, credits the illustrator as Shahab Shamshirsaz.

Shamshirsaz studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Storymix Books states that he began drawing when he was young, later developed an interest in telling stories through images, and has a particular interest in fairy and folk tales from different parts of the world.

His children’s book work includes the illustrations for The Other Father Christmas, written by Serena Holly, the pen name used by Priscilla Mante and Jasmine Richards. The book was published by Storymix Books in 2025 and follows Mikey, a ten-year-old boy who enters his grieving grandfather into a competition to become the next Father Christmas.

Shamshiraz is also credited as illustrator of Read Write Inc. Phonics: Sound Blending Book Bag Book 3, published by Oxford University Press in 2022 as part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics Book Bag Books series.

The Other Father Christmas was shortlisted for The Week Junior Book Awards 2026 in the Younger Fiction category and in the Children’s Book Cover of the Year category.