Just Published: Foxy Tales – The Cunning Plan illustrated by Alex T Smith

Whilst Alex T Smith is busy touring the country as the official World Book Day illustrator, he has another book published this month by Hodder. Foxy Tales, A Cunning Plan is the first in a series of fiction titles which are a spin off from his popular picture books Egg and Catch Us if You Can Can, reuniting Foxy DuBois and the dastardly Alphonso the Alligator. Hodder have teamed Alex up with author Caryl Hart and the dynamic duo have created an hilarious tale of mayhem and mischief, perfect for young readers AND their parents!

Just Published: Hector and the Big Bad Knight by Alex T Smith

World Book Day illustrator, Alex T Smith has written and illustrated his ninth picture book, Hector and the Big Bad Knight, published by Scholastic this month. Hector and his sidekick chicken, Norman, battle the evil Knight who has stolen Granny's magic wand. Can the tiniest boy in the village outsmart the naughty Knight and his humongous hungry dragon? Well, anything is possible with just little bit of magic and a bag of crisps!

To celebrate World Book Day, Alex also shows us 'How to Draw a Knight' in a series of pictures for The Guardian online.

World Book Day Illustrator: Alex T Smith

Alex T Smith is the official illustrator for World Book Day 2014. He was thrilled to be asked to provide the illustrations for this year's promotional material. The brief was great fun, picking up on all of Alex’s favourite things to draw, appealing to children from nursery age to ten years old. Watch out for Alex as he tours the country this month visiting book shops, festivals and children's learning centres.

Now in its 17th year, World Book Day is the biggest celebration of books, reading, authors & illustrators of its kind, for children of all ages in the UK. Designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, it is marked in over 100 countries worldwide.

The major aim of World Book Day is to encourage children to discover the power of reading for pleasure by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. Every year, over 14 million £1 book tokens are distributed to over 46,650 educational establishments nationwide (nursery and pre-school through to secondary) – one for nearly every child in full-time education in the country.

Hannah George

A.k.A

A.k.A were commissioned by Publicis New York to illustrate the launch of Crest's brand new line of 'Be' toothpastes, which feature chocolate, vanilla and lime flavours. A.k.A executed the photography, 3D modelling and artwork production for the multi platform campaign.

Helen Ingham and ‘Adventures in Letterpress’

Hog in the Fog

One of our brilliant new artists, Eunyoung Seo, has just had her wonderful illustrations published by Faber in the adorable tale 'Hog in the Fog', a Harry and Lil story. This is the story of Candy Stripe Lil and Harry the Hog. Lil is expecting Harry the Hog for tea, but there's a swirling fog outside and Harry is nowhere to be seen! Lil sets off to find her friend. Luckily she meets Deer, Sheep and Crow along the way, who all join in the hunt to find the hog in the fog. A heartwarming rhyming adventure story about friendship, teamwork and teatime! Eunyoung's drawings create a sublime sense of atmosphere and with her delicate approach and attention to detail, they really make this a stunning publication. And there's more good news too... there will be another Harry and Lil story coming your way soon, so we relish the prospect of more fantastic art from Eunyong. We cant wait!

Pirate Gran

Rose Forshall's illustrations for the Pirate Gran series of children's books, are coming to life at a theatre near you soon!

Pirate Gran has been dramatised by Scamp theatre from the books written by Geraldine Durrant, illustrated by Rose and published by the National Maritime Museum. We love this poster and can't wait to see what Rose's characters look like in 3D!

House of Illustration “Our very first Illustrator in Residence: Call for entries”

Our very first Illustrator in Residence: Call for entries

Today we are announcing a call for our first illustrator in residence. We are looking for an illustrator to play an important part in our Housewarming festival of illustration in April and May and to record the exciting events in the run up to House of Illustration’s opening this summer.

This six-month residency is an exciting opportunity for an illustrator to get involved in all aspects of House of Illustration life, from online illustrations and blogs to displays, talks, education projects and community workshops.

We would particularly welcome applications from emerging illustrators – we want to find and promote new illustration talent!

The illustrator in residence will:

• Have their work showcased on the House of Illustration website, alongside an individual blog on the residency

• Have the opportunity to display work created during their residency at House of Illustration

• Be engaged with the public through talks or workshops

• The winning illustrator will receive a £6,000 fee plus a materials budget of up to £1,000

The House of Illustration residency will be an annual event and this inaugural residency has been made possible thanks to the generous support of The Barbara and Philip Denny Trust.

The residency will run from late April to October 2014. The closing date for submissions is Tuesday 18th March.

For information on the residency and details on how to apply please visit our illustrator in residence webpage

Best of luck!

House of Illustration