Svjetlan Junaković was born in Zagreb, on the 23rd of January 1961. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Brera in Milan in 1985., and works as a painter, sculptor and illustrator in Zagreb.
For his work he received various prizes such as certificate of Honour IBBY in New Delhi 1998, the prize at the BIB in Bratislava in 2001, special reward in Bari in 2003 (Premio citta di Bari), and in Japan (Oita Biennale) in 2004. He also won six national prizes for illustrations in Croatia. At the Bologna Book Fair his work has been exhibited in 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Nine books, written and illustrated on his own, published by Bohem Press – Zurich, have been translated in twenty languages and published all over the world.
He teaches illustration at Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb, and at the international school in Sarmede, Italy.