Creator Corner: Author Laura Alary and Illustrator Risa Hugo
Welcome to Creator Corner, a blog series where we interview the creators of our recent and upcoming books. For this post, we interviewed Who Needs the Dark?: The Many Ways Living Things Depend on Darkness author Laura Alary and illustrator Risa Hugo, whose book published September 16, 2025!
Owlkids Books: Laura, how and why did you begin writing children’s books?
Laura Alary: If we don’t count all the books I used to make when I was little, I started writing children’s books when my son was born. I had just completed my PhD thesis (a bit of an ordeal) and was looking for way to find pleasure in writing again. In those days I was making a lot of trips to the library and reading stacks of picture books with my son, so I thought I would try writing one of my own. The process of doing it brought me so much joy I just kept on writing more stories.
Owlkids Books: Risa, how and why did you begin illustrating children’s books?
Risa Hugo: I’ve always loved drawing and reading but was pessimistic about pursuing it as career. I still decided to apply to art school after getting encouragement from my art teacher and I got accepted into Emily Carr University. During this time, I took a children’s book illustration class and fell in love with it. After the graduation, I submitted my work to publishers and I got a job offer from Annick Press to illustrate Why Are You So Quiet? and that’s how everything began.
OKB: Laura, what inspired you to write this book?
LA: When I was a kid I was scared of the dark. But over the years a few close encounters with darkness changed how I felt about it. The first was staying with a friend and her family at their cottage on an island in the Laurentians. There was no electricity so we lived by the natural rhythms of day and night. That was when I first fell in love with the dark. Another memorable time was the ice storm of 2013, when we lost power for the days leading up to Christmas. Along with the stress and mess, there was so much coziness and closeness—and we all slept so well! The final bit of inspiration came one winter afternoon when I was in bed with a bad headache. Even the tiniest bit of light was painful to me, so I curled up and started making a poem about all the things I love about the dark, beginning with the fact that it didn’t hurt my head! That poem was the start of Who Needs the Dark?
OKB: Risa, what was the most enjoyable part of illustrating this book? What was the most challenging part?
RH: I actually enjoyed illustrating most of the book since I’ve been wanting to work on something like it for a while. I do remember struggling a lot with the spread with the bee.
OKB: Laura, what was the most enjoyable part of bringing this story to life? What was the most challenging part of the process?
LA: Brainstorming the gifts of darkness—the many ways it benefits us—was fun and interesting. I learned a lot from my background reading. The tricky part was the next step: finding parallels between human experience and that of other living things. They had to be scientifically accurate, but also easy for a child to relate to. Fortunately, I enjoy a challenge, so I had fun making those connections.
OKB: Risa, what was the inspiration for your illustrations in this book?
RH: Adrianne Adams and Fiep Westendorp were my go-to whenever I felt the need for inspiration. However, a lot of it came from my experience relating to the word “dark”.
OKB: Laura and Risa, what do you hope readers will take away from this book?
LA: I hope readers will go away with a deeper appreciation for darkness and how beautiful and necessary it is. I also hope they will have a sense of kinship to other living things that depend on the dark. The questions to the reader that frame the story suggest the possibility of changing how we perceive darkness. Maybe kids who are scared of the dark will feel a bit less afraid. I hope so.
RH: My son is currently struggling with the dark. He’s very afraid of it and I think that’s fine—but I’m hoping this book can help him see the beauty and exciting parts about the dark. I want all the readers to see that.
OKB: Laura and Risa, what’s an interesting fact people may not know about you?
LA: When I was in high school I won an essay contest and the prize was a trip to London hosted by the Metropolitan Police. Along with riding in a police boat on the Thames, one of the things I got to do was operate the mechanism that raises and lowers Tower Bridge. That has nothing to do with darkness, but it’s pretty cool.
RH: I read manga and play video games! I used to be worried about my art looking too manga-like because that’s how I started drawing. I think I figured out a nice balance and I’m pretty happy with the style.
Thank you so much Laura and Risa for taking the time to do this interview and creating a wonderful book! We hope readers enjoy Who Needs the Dark? as much as we did!
Grab your copy today!
