Obituary Niki Daly

Niki Daly 1946-2024

By Janetta Otter-Barry

Niki Daly, the internationally celebrated South African writer and illustrator, who died aged 77 in January this year, was a pioneer of diversity and inclusion in children’s books from the 1980s, long before diversity became a mainstream publishing genre. He cared passionately about highlighting the lives of black South African families and other under-represented communities and he did this brilliantly for over forty years through his picture books and storybooks, which were published worldwide by discerning publishers who recognised the importance of what he was doing – and his extraordinary artistic talent.

Niki had a particularly enthusiastic and loyal fanbase in the US from early in his career and was published first by Margaret K McElderry, the legendary editor of children’s books. This was the start of a long relationship which resulted in classic picture books such as Fly, Eagle, Fly (1985), a wonderful parable-style story about self-belief and reaching for the sky, with an introduction by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the ground-breaking Not So Fast, Songololo (1986), a gem of a picture book for young children, so simple and yet profound, about a child shopping for trainers with his grandmother, a book which broke though South Africa’s apartheid barriers to celebrate black lives.

He was also published in the US by Penguin Putnam, Lothrop Lee & Shephard, Scholastic, Farrar Straus, Clarion and, most recently, Catalyst, and he fostered strong relationships with publishers in Japan, Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Holland and France and of course the UK.

In the UK, Frances Lincoln was his principal publisher from 1990 until 2016, publishing, among many other picture books, the classic Jamela series, depicting the everyday adventures of a little girl living with her ma and grandma (Gogo) in a black South African township. These lovely stories are filled with joy and mischief, with universal appeal, while opening a window onto a close-knit family and a community that young western readers would not be very much aware of. The books are beautifully illustrated in watercolour – and more recently with digital media.

In 2016 Otter-Barry Books took up the baton, publishing the delightful Lolo series of first chapter books for five to eight year olds, again featuring an extended single-parent black family, and starring mischievous, warm-hearted Lolo. Otter-Barry Books also published Niki’s final picture book in 2022, On My Papa’s Shoulders, a celebration of fathers everywhere – Niki was feeling that fathers needed some praise!

He wrote and illustrated most of his picture books and had that rare talent for bringing characters to life in both words and pictures – ‘an innate ability to capture the essence of a child, no matter what their background,’ as Dianne Hofmeyr described it in her IBBY obituary. He was also exceptionally generous with advice, acting as a mentor to young, unpublished illustrators from South Africa and beyond. He was an excellent, incisive speaker on the subject of diversity and inclusion, and in earlier years was a much-loved visitor to UK library conferences and book festivals.

Niki was South Africa’s nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Award in 2020, and previous honours include ALA Notable Book awards, IBBY Honour Awards and a shortlisting for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.  Jamela’s Dress was one of the top ten African-American picture books of 2000.

Niki was born in Cape Town and lived in South Africa for most of his life, latterly in Kleimond, by the sea, not far from Cape Town. He was part of a loving family: his wife, the acclaimed illustrator Jude Daly, his two sons, Joe and Leo (also an illustrator), and granddaughter Emily.

I feel honoured and privileged to have been part of Niki’s literary journey.  Niki Daly was one of the greatest picture book creators of our time and a pioneer and champion of diversity in children’s books. I am proud to be one of his publishers and to have been his editor for over 25 years. His genius for storytelling and illustration, almost always focusing on families from under-represented backgrounds, was unparalleled and his stories are loved by readers all over the world.

Formerly publisher at Frances Lincoln, Janetta Otter-Barry founded Otter-Barry Books in 2016.