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Meet An Illustrator 14 – David Litchfield

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self-portrait © David Litchfield

ACHUKA is thrilled to have David Litchfield as the 14th guest on Meet An Illustrator, an informal weekend feature introduced this year.. Do visit the backpages  to read the responses from previous guests.

The Bear And The Piano, David’s debut picture book, was published just 5 years ago, but he is already established as one of the UK’s leading illustrators and picture book creators. That debut title won Waterstones Illustrated Book Prize in 2016. Much more recently he has come to attention as the cover illustrator for David Almond’s Bone Music:

The Bear And The Piano became a trilogy with publication in 2019 of
The Bear, The Piano, The Dog And The Fiddle
and, this year, with the third title The Bear, The Piano And The Little Bear’s Concert.

A particular favourite of ACHUKA’s is Lights On Cotton Rock:

His 2021 publishing year kicked off with illustrations for A Shelter for Sadness by Anne Booth

and the paperback edition of Rainbow Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls is published this coming week:

Next month (May 2021) we can look forward to Pip And Egg written by Alex Latimer:

and, as we hear below, there is lot lots more to come.

As a child, what were the first illustrations you remember being pleased with? 

 I think that it was a drawing of a panda. It was in primary school and we all had to draw one. We then put them all on the wall and I remember feeling a bit arrogant and quietly smug that my panda was definitely one of the best ones on that wall.

Who/what inspired you when you were young?

Again at primary school our teacher sat us all down and read us Where The Wild Things Are. I remember being absolutely blown away by Maurice Sendak‘s drawings and characters and totally felt transported away from the reading mat in that classroom to that dreamy monster island. Mr Sendak and Albert Uderzo were absolutely the two biggest influences on making me want to draw every day.

Who inspires you today?

Still mainly Sendak and Uderzo. But I love finding out about new illustrators. There are an infinite amount of styles and techniques and approaches to drawing and I love being surprised by how different people create a spread or tell their stories. My current 2 favourites are Sydney Smith and Frances Ives. They both have such a free and natural style. They are amazing.

Did you study art/illustration?

I actually studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Art. Graphic Design felt like the most sensible career choice in the art world. I loved the course and I met some great people there. But I was really shocked at how little drawing was involved. I think more than anything that course showed me how much I really loved to draw and that I just wasn’t a Graphic Designer.

What is your favourite artist tool/product?

 It sounds obvious but a pencil and a sketchbook. My absolute favourite part of a project is when it’s just me, a pencil and a sketchbook and I am just letting the idea develop by scribbling and experimenting and making a mess.

Where do you buy your art supplies?

 I have two favourite shops here in Bedford. One is called the Arc which sells all kinds of incredible arts supplies and exotic paints and brushes etc. I also like Coleman’s which is obviously more of a standard stationary shop. But I don’t know, I like their pens. I spend far too much money on pens.

What software/apps do you use?

I only really use Photoshop. I tried to get my head around Illustrator but I’m just not that technically minded to be honest. I have had a play with Pro Create but my kids keep stealing my iPad so I have not had enough time to learn it yet.

What was your first commission?

My first commission happened when I was 13 years old and I drew a poster for a local comic shop. They paid me in comics. My first proper paid commission was with The Beano comic. I think that it was in  2013 or so when the editor Michael Stirling found my drawings online. For a few weeks I drew the illustrations that accompanied a poetry section in the comic. It was amazing to be drawing for a comic I had been in love with for most of my life. I will forever be grateful to that team for giving me that opportunity.

What are you working on at the moment?

 I am just finishing drawing a pretty epic book written by Gregory Maguire. After that I’m so happy to be working on another ‘Earth’ book with Stacy McAnulty. I love drawing these books, and I learn so much about our planet too. After that I’m starting a beautiful book with the writer Nell Cross Beckerman which is going to be a total stunner. Towards the end of the year I’m creating artwork for my next author/illustrator book too.

Which is all very exciting. I always feel like I’m being very vague when I don’t give too much info but I’m never sure how much I’m actually allowed to say. What I can tell you is that my author/illustrator book is going to be a Christmas story set in Victorian times.

Twitter or Instagram? Instagram I think. I love Twitter but Instagram just feels a lot friendlier. Also as an illustrator it is a great, visual medium to share work on. I have also found so many new great artists from this site.

Coffee or tea?  I love coffee. But I have had to cut back a lot. I was getting the jitters because I drank it so much. Now I just have two cups a day. And only in the mornings.

Cat or dog?  Oh my goodness Dog. Dog every time. I always had dogs growing up. They were my best friends. We got a dog last summer. I was adamant that my two boys should have a dog growing up. My wife wasn’t that convinced I don’t think but now that we have one she loves her as much as we do.

Grape or grain? Hmmm, both good, but I would have to say grape.

Sunrise or sunset? Sunset. I don’t know if it’s a getting older thing but I love sitting in my garden as the sun starts to go down. It’s like a magic time of the day where everything is winding down and becoming peaceful.

What do you listen to when you are working?  Mainly loud rock music.  But I’ve also started to listen to a fair few podcasts. My favourite ones at the moment are ‘Pod Save America‘- helps me get my head around American politics, which I can sometimes find quite baffling from time to time- and The Force Center – which is a massively geeky Star Wars podcast which has none of the snark and negativity of other fandom type discussions. I recommend it if you are a Star Wars nerd like me.

Where can we follow you on social media?
I’m on twitter: @dc_litchfield
Instagram: @david_c_litchfield

I also have a blog at: tinkerd.tumblr.com and a Facebook page at facebook.com/davidlitchfieldillustration -but to be honest I do keep forgetting to update that one.
This is a regular weekend feature, publishing every Saturday.

 

Drawn Across Borders: True Stories of Migration by George Butler

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Apr 2021

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

“George’s work gets to the essence of war and the experiences of the human beings caught up in it.” Jeremy Bowen

“The Paul Nash of our era.” Michael Morpurgo

“While photography is good in what it can reveal; drawing has that ability to have a considered approach of a different kind – simply because it is less instant and more reflective. Stories emerge from such drawings. George Butler is keeping reportage drawing alive.”   John Vernon Lord

“It is an unusual feeling to walk into a place that everyone is leaving. I have been stared at as if I am lost or mad, and sometimes I have felt as if I am both. However, by resisting the temptation to turn around and walk away I have made these drawings. I made them in refugee camps, war zones and on the move, and as I drew, people told me their stories.” George Butler

In striking and intimate illustrations, award-winning artist George Butler introduces us to the people behind the headlines. Drawings made on front lines, in refugee camps and on the move vividly capture stories of leaving home, travelling into the unknown and trying to make a new life. These powerful portraits of migration are a timely reminder of the humanity we all share and our universal need to seek safety and a better life.

While the illustrations themselves are at the heart of the book, I also want to praise Butler for the quality of his commentary. Older children and teenagers will surely appreciate the direct and unpatronising tone of his writing.

This is a very special publication. It is selected as ACHUKA Book of the Day on the day the UK’s bookshops re-open their doors after the long winter lockdown. Please look out for it.

Any young person inspired to take up location sketching may find the following title in the Urban Sketching series helpful:
The Urban Sketching Handbook Techniques for Beginners: How to Build a Practice for Sketching on Location – Urban Sketching Handbooks 11 by Suhita Shirodkar

Amazon
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The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk tr. Antonia Lloyd-Jones ill. Joanna Concejo

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 12 Mar 2020

Waterstones
Amazon
Bookshop

‘Once upon a time there was a man who worked very hard and very quickly, and who had left his soul far behind him long ago. In fact his life was all right without his soul – he slept, ate, worked, drove a car and even played tennis. But sometimes he felt as if the world around him were flat, as if he were moving across a smooth page in a math book that was covered in evenly spaced squares…’

“The tender illustrations offer fine details that sink deep into the memory.” Annie Proulx
“Tokarczuk and Concejo offer their readers another way to see the velocity of days, the grace in waiting, and time itself. Turning Concejo’s pages of wonderful drawings gave me a much-needed pause, and a reassuring perspective on loss, patience, and reward.” Leanne Shapton

The Lost Soul is a deeply moving reflection on our capacity to live in peace with ourselves, to remain patient and attentive to the world. It is a story that beautifully weaves together the voice of the Nobel Prize-winning Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk and the finely detailed pen-and-ink drawings of illustrator Joanna Concejo, who together create a parallel narrative universe full of secrets, evocative of another time.

Follow Joanna Concego on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannaconcejo/

Meet An Illustrator 8 – Armin Greder

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self-portrait © Armin Greder

ACHUKA’s 8th guest in our weekly (every Saturday) Meet An Illustrator slot is Armin Greder.
All previous features in this series are being archived week by week on this page:
https://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/meet-an-illustrator/

Born in Switzerland, but living and working in Australia after 1970 and for the last ten years in Peru, Greder is an uncompromising picture book artist and illustrator. He won the Bologna Ragazzi Award for his illustrations in The Great Bear, written by  Libby Gleeson, with whom he has worked several times. The book was described by KIRKUS as “spectacular and deeply moving”.

In Australia he has won many book awards and been named as nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Prize.

His most recent book in the UK was Diamonds, a parable showing how the thirst for riches produces inequality and corruption.

His best-known book is probably The Island (2007), a book that has gained in resonance because of the way it focuses on how refugees are treated.

He tells ACHUKA that his next book with Allen & Unwin will be entitled The Inheritance.

After reading these  responses to our informal feature prompts, let me point you to this in-depth 2016 interview with him on Playing By The Book.

As a child, what were the first illustrations you remember being pleased with? 

 The last one. Until I had done the next one.

 

Who/what inspired you when you were young?

The books on expeditions from the local library with which my mother kept me supplied

 

Who inspires you today?

Käthe Kollwitz, Daumier, Goya.

 

Did you study art or illustration? 

No.

 

What is your favourite artist tool/product?

Compressed charcoal & pastel / brush & ink (both on paper).

 

Where do you buy your art supplies?

Wherever I find them.

 

What software/apps do you use?

Photoshop, to scan and scale my drawings.

 

What was your first commission?

A poster for a fashion shop.

 

What are you working on at the moment?

Nothing.

 

Twitter or Instagram? Neither

Coffee or tea? Tea (green)

Cat or dog? Neither

Grape or grain? Grape (white, dry)

Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise

 

What do you listen to when you are working? Nothing.

 

Where can we follow you on social media? Nowhere.

Now go to this in-depth 2016 interview with him on Playing By The Book.

 

This is a regular weekend feature, publishing every Saturday.

The Art of Ramona Quimby: Sixty-Five Years of Illustrations from Beverly Cleary’s Beloved Books by Anna Katz

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 3 Dec 2020

“The true pleasure of this retrospective is that it highlights key moments from the books, in chronological order, and compares the various illustrators’ ways of depicting them. We see the same sequence drawn in different eras (with different fashions and hairstyles); we see varying unscripted reactions on the characters’ faces, and a wide range of demeanors. We see situations from different angles and perspectives, with positive versus negative spins…” Jennifer Krauss NEW YORK TIMES

The Art of Ramona Quimby celebrates the artists behind Beverly Cleary’s inimitable Ramona Quimby series. The adventures of her iconic heroine have been brought to life by five different artists: Louis Darling, Alan Tiegreen, Joanne Scribner, Tracy Dockray, and Jacqueline Rogers.
Readers can compare multiple interpretations of iconic scenes (remember the infamous egg-cracking incident?), read letters between illustrators and Cleary, and learn the stories behind the illustrations.

The Art of Ramona Quimby explores the evolution of an iconic character, and how each artist has ultimately made her timeless. For fans of illustration and design, and for those who grew up alongside Ramona, this richly nostalgic volume reminds us why we fell in love with these books.

The most recent illustrator, Jacqueline Rogers, describes her style, in an afterword, as “sometimes scratchy,” with a variety of thick and thin lines, “loose and full of energy,” just like the incorrigible, irresistible Ramona.
Read this interview with the book’s compiler, Anna Katz.

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Amazon

Klaus Flugge Prize Shortlist

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The shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize was announced this evening (Tuesday 19 May), LIVE on Twitter and on YouTube.

2020 is the fifth year of the prize, which was set up to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and an extremely influential figure in children’s picture books. It is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration.

From a longlist of sixteen picture books by debut illustrators, the panel of judges comprising award-winning illustrator Mini Grey; Jessica Love, 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize winner; Meera Ghanshamdas, bookseller at Moon Lane Ink; children’s book consultant Jake Hope; and Pam Smy of Anglia Ruskin University, have chosen five titles to shortlist.

KLAUS FLUGGE SHORTLIST

  • When Sadness Comes to Call, Eva Eland, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
    What the judges said: ‘beautifully simple and pared back; the page layouts seem sparse and crisp but the work the illustrations are doing is quite extraordinary in terms of the message that sadness is something we might have to live with.’

Eva Eland’s examination of sadness, represented by a misty little monster, simply and unforgettably conveys a sophisticated message in a masterpiece of minimalism.

  • The Star in the Forest, Helen Kellock, editor Anna Ridley, designer Aaron Hayden (Thames & Hudson)
    What the judges said: ‘few books these days use light and tone or traditional watercolour skills to tell stories; it’s worked into something quite magical here.’

Helen Kellock uses light and composition to create an atmospheric starry adventure, that glows with family love.

  • Where is Your Sister?, Puck Koper, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
    What the judges said: ‘goes at a wonderful pace, with laugh out loud moments. It’s stylish and feels very sophisticated for a first book’.

Using a limited palette, Dutch artist Puck Koper creates a frantic dash through a department store which is both a search and find story, and an accurately observed and very funny family adventure.

  • On the Origin of Species, Sabina Radeva, editor Anna Barnes Robinson, designer Keren Greenfeld (Puffin)
    What the judges said: ‘It’s full of detail and really reflects the beauty of nature. A feat of managing that amount of detail without it feeling cluttered. A wonderful reference book, a real companion for a child.’

A one-time molecular biologist, Sabina Radeva utilises her passion for science to retell Darwin’s famous work, mining the depths of inventiveness to convey information through few words and wonderful pictures.

  • One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller, Kate Read, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner
    What the judges said: ‘Visually stunning. There’s real drama here and the way the story is told is joyous. She’s done a very clever thing and created a counting book while keeping within the beats of a story.’

Kate Read uses bold colours, composition and collage to tell the story of one famished fox’s encounter with some angry hens, making this counting book a real thriller.

Chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare said: “Our shortlist demonstrates the vibrancy of contemporary illustration for children. Here are five very different books – the illustrators have different styles, use different techniques and have different intentions, but each achieves exactly what they set out to do with pictures that perfectly tell their stories. The Klaus Flugge Prize has already highlighted many talented illustrators and in the fifth year of this important award, we’re delighted to have another extremely strong and eye-catching shortlist.”

The shortlist was due to be announced at a live event at Foyles Charing Cross Road on Tuesday 19th May. Instead, judge and 2019 winner Jessica Love announced the shortlist live via Twitter and Youtube.

The final winner will be revealed on Wednesday 16th September 2020 and will receive a cheque for £5,000.

Klaus Flugge Prize Establishes Programme Of Virtual Celebration

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The Klaus Flugge Prize prepares to boosts online activity in the face of Coronavirus as judges and past winners join this year’s shortlisted illustrators in a expanded programme of virtual celebrations.

Zoom roundtables, Twitter livestreams and special video interviews are all part of the increased online activity planned for this year’s Klaus Flugge Prize – to include announcements of both the shortlist (19th May) and the winner (16th September). Now in its fifth year, the Klaus Flugge Prize is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration. It honours Klaus Flugge, founder of publisher Andersen Press and a supremely influential figure in picture books.

“Conversation and debate about contemporary picture book illustration has always been a vital element of the Klaus Flugge Prize”, says chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare, “and live events have been integral to the prize, whether panel events with illustrators and art directors, or the announcement of the shortlist at Foyles. We can’t gather in the same room this year, so instead we will be hugely increasing our programme of virtual activity to enable those conversations and to put children’s picture book illustration in the spotlight.”

Those taking part in the activity include previous Klaus Flugge Prize winners Jessica Love (Julian is a Mermaid 2019), Kate Milner (My Name is Not Refugee 2018), Francesca Sanna (The Journey 2017) and Nicholas John Frith (Hector and Hummingbird, 2016) as well as award-winning illustrator and 2020 judge Mini Grey.

The timetable of activity includes:

  • 5th May – Twitter Livestream with Mini Grey
  • 6th May – publication of a recording of the Livestream
  • 12th May – Zoom Klaus Flugge Prize illustrators roundtable
  • 19th May – Klaus Flugge Prize shortlist announcement at 7.00pm
  • 19th June – Zoom Klaus Flugge Prize designers and editors’ roundtable
  • 20th June – 15th September – interviews, panels, Twitter Livestream Q&As with shortlisted illustrators and leading figures in picture book illustration
  • 16th September – announcement of the winner of the 2020 Klaus Flugge Prize.

The judges for the 2020 prize are award-winning illustrator Mini Grey; Meera Ghanshamdas, bookseller at Moon Lane Ink; children’s book consultant Jake Hope; Pam Smy of Anglia Ruskin University; and 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize winner Jessica Love. The panel will be chaired by Julia Eccleshare, director of the children’s programme of the Hay Festival.

 

The 2020 Klaus Flugge Prize longlist in full:

  • Look Up!, Dapo Adeola, written by Nathan Bryan, editor Joe Marriott, designer Keren Greenfield (Puffin)
  • The Mist Monster, Kirsti Beautyman, editor Alison Green, designer Zoë Tucker (Alison Green Books)
  • Keith Among the Pigeons, Katie Brosnan, editor Sue Baker, designer Annie Kubler (Child’s Play)
  • Caspian Finds a Friend, Merrilees Brown, written by Jacqueline Veissid, editor Victoria Rock, designer Sara Gillingham (Chronicle Books)
  • Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter Graham Carter, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
  • When Sadness Comes to Call, Eva Eland, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
  • The Girl with Two Dads, Mel Elliott, editor Emma Dods, designer Abi Luffman (Egmont)
  • My Hair, Allen Fatimaharan, written by Hannah Lee, editor Alice Swan, designer Emma Eldridge (Faber & Faber)
  • The Star in the Forest, Helen Kellock, editor Anna Ridley, designer Aaron Hayden (Thames & Hudson)
  • Where is Your Sister?, Puck Koper, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
  • The Mole and the Hole, Brayden Kowalczuk, editor Katie Cotton, designer Zoë Tucker (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)
  • Incredible Jobs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of, Natalie Labarre, editor Victoria England, designer Holly Phillips (Nosy Crow)
  • On the Origin of Species, Sabina Radeva, editor Anna Barnes Robinson, designer Keren Greenfield (Puffin)
  • I Saw a Bee, Rob Ramsden, editor Janice Thomson, designer Goldy Broad (Scallywag Press)
  • One Fox: A Counting Thriller Book, Kate Read, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
  • Collecting Cats, Lorna Scobie, editors Sophie Cashell & Linas Alsenas, designer Strawberrie Donnelly (Scholastic)

Use @KlausFluggePr  #KFP20

Templar Illustration Prize Finalists

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The 2019 prize invited applicants to submit book materials – including cover, storyboard and spread designs – to the theme of ‘Where I Come From’, aimed at pre-school children up to 12 years. This year’s judging panel includes Templar illustrators, Jonny Duddle, Lara Hawthorne, Lucia Gaggiotti and  Frann Preston Gannon. 

THE 2019 FINALISTS ARE:

MARIA COCO for The New Swamp

PAULA WHITE for Bread, Buns and Biscuits

SALLY WALKER for Grandpa’s World

The winning entry will be announced at an awards ceremony at Nomad Books in Fulham on the 18th September 2019.

 

THE PRIZES 

First Place: £750 and the work will be considered by the Templar team for publication



Second Place: £500

Third Place: £250 

 

 

Klaus Flugge 2019 Shortlist

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Photos of the presentation will follow in a separate post

The shortlist for the 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize was announced live at an event held at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London earlier this evening (Wednesday 15th May).

Set up to honour publisher Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and one of the most important and influential figures in children’s picture books, this important award, now in its fourth year, is for the most promising and exciting newcomer to picture book illustration.

From a longlist of twenty picture books by debut illustrators, a panel of judges comprising former Waterstones Children’s Laureate and preeminent illustrator Anthony Browne; Kate Milner, 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize winner; Derek Brazell, of the Association of Illustrators; Seven Stories bookseller Billiejo Carlisle; and Farrah Serroukh, Learning Programme Leader at CLPE (Centre for Literary inPrimary Education), have chosen a shortlist of six.

The shortlist this year is notable for being all female.

The Klaus Flugge Prize 2019 Shortlist

The Extraordinary Gardener – Sam Boughton
(Tate)

Editor Holly Tonks, designer Ness Wood
What the judges said: There’s an exuberance in the artwork; some wonderful spreads and Joe’s urban world is really well done; it has real child appeal

Sam Boughton graduated with a BA in Illustration from Bristol UWE before studying at the Cambridge School of Art where she was awarded a distinction in the MA in Illustration. Shortly after that she won the Ronald Searle Award for Creativity and was Highly Commended for the Macmillan Prize.
Website: http://www.samboughton.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samboughton/

Looking After Daddy – Eve Coy
(Andersen Press)

Editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill
What the judges said: The images tell their own stories; really good interplay between text and illustration; I smiled all the way through

Eve Coy studied at Edinburgh University and became an artist working for Aardman Animation. She gained in MA in children’s illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eve.coy/

The King Who Banned the Dark – Emily Haworth-Booth
(Pavilion Children’s Books)

Editor Neil Dunnicliffe, designer Lee-May Lim
What the judges said: A great idea and it really makes the most of light and dark; there’s lots of variety in the use of page layout, and lots of surprises; it’s full of energy and humour

Emily Haworth-Booth teaches at the Royal Drawing School in London. Alongside her picture books, Emily is currently working on a long-form graphic memoir for adults. Her short comics have previously appeared in print in the Observer and Vogue.
Website: http://emilyhaworthbooth.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyhaworthbooth/

I Can Fly – Fifi Kuo, editor Leilani Sparrow
(Boxer Books)

Designer David Bennett
What the judges said: A beautiful book; a lovely sense of movement; the story has been done before but she’s transformed it; fantastic drawing skills, every penguin is different

Fifi Kuo trained at the Cambridge School of Art and is Taiwanese. Since graduation she has won Bronze in the Macmillan Prize, been shortlisted for the AOI World Illustration Award and won merit in the iJungle Illustration Awards. She is keen for her picture books to conveya meaningful message.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifisillustration/

Julian is a Mermaid – Jessica Love
(Walker Books)

Editor Tanya Rosie, art director Deirdre McDermott
What the judges said: It reminded me of Sendak, it’s hard to believe it’s a debut; the illustrations say things that words would struggle to express; delivers an important message without feeling didactic

Jessica Love is an author-illustrator and a New York based actor. She has a BA in studio art from the University of California as well as a graduate degree from The Juilliard School for performing arts. Julian is a Mermaid is also shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.
Website: https://jesslove.format.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesslovedraws/

Red and the City – Marie Voigt
(Oxford)

Editor Peter Marley, designer Kate Adams
What the judges said: The characters are simply drawn but have real personality; there’s a European feel to the artwork; a clever, multi-layered retelling of a well-known story

Marie Voigt was born in former East Berlin and  holds degrees in Media Technology and Marketing and had a successful career in TV, branding and graphic design before realising that making picture books allows her to combine all her passions.
Website: http://www.marievoigt.com

Other books longlisted for the Prize were:

  • The Long Island, Drew Beckmeyer, editor Taylor Norman, designer Kristine Brogno (Chronicle Books)
  • Mini Rabbit Not Lost, John Bond, editor Alice Blacker, designer Goldy Broad (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
  • The Ink House, Rory Dobner, editor Jo Lightfoot and Katherine Pitt, designer Mariana Sameiro, (Laurence King)
  • Cycle City, Alison Farrell, editor Taylor Norman, designer Ryan Hayes (Chronicle Books)
  • Erik the Lone Wolf, Sarah Finan, editor Jenny Broom, designer Zoë Tucker (Lincoln Children’s Books)
  • Maybe the Moon, Frances Ives, editor Jocelyn Norbury, designer Jack Clucas (LOM Art)
  • Say Hi to Hedgehogs, Jane McGuiness, editor Becky Watson, designer Beth Aves (Walker Books)
  • You’re Safe with Me, Poonam Mistry, written by Chitra Soundar, editor Alice Curry (Lantana Publishing)
  • The Red Dread, Tom Morgan-Jones, editor Emma Hargarve, designer Julie-Ann Murray (Barrington Stoke)
  • The Story of Tantrum O’Furrily, Mark Nicholas, written by Cressida Cowell, editor Anne McNeil (Hodder Children’s Books)
  • The Buildings that Made London, Josie Shenoy, editor Saskia Gwinn, designer Sophie Gordon (Bloomsbury)
  • I Love You Bunny, Alina Surnaite, editor Katie Cotto, designer Mike Jolley and Karissa Santos (Lincoln Children’s Books)
  • The Wardrobe Monster, Bryony Thomson, editor Ruth Huddleston, designer Mike Jolley (Old Barn Books)
  • The Best Sound in the World, Cindy Wume, editor Katie Cotton, designer Zoë Tucker (Lincoln Children’s Books)

David Macaulay Feature

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David Macaulay is renowned for his intricate drawings demystifying everything from how castles were built (Castle, 1977) to the inner workings of the brain (The Amazing Brain, 1984). But he may be best known for the comprehensive The Way Things Work, first published in 1988. A 1991 Caldecott Medal winner and 2006 MacArthur Fellow, the British-born illustrator, 71, has lived in Norwich for the past dozen years.

Now on view at the Vermont Arts Council‘s Spotlight Gallery, “Macaulay in Montpelier: Selected Drawings and Sketches” provides insight into the artist’s meticulous work translating a variety of technologies and structures into visual form. In addition, Macaulay presents the lecture “Illustrating Architecture From the Inside Out” on Wednesday, October 24, at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

Seven Days chatted with Macaulay about his process and perfectionism and what he’d like to do next.

Full interview >>> https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/illustrator-david-macaulay-talks-about-drawing-learning-and-forgetting/Content?oid=21877060