We are delighted and incredibly proud that Bright author illustrator Fiona Woodcock has won the World Illustration Awards 2019 Children’s Book Category for her children’s book LOOK, published by HarperCollins US imprint Greenwillow Books.

Fiona at Somerset House for the World Illustration Awards 2019

Told entirely in words that contain a double ‘O’, LOOK is the story of a brother and sister’s day, including a trip to the zoo, where they discover baboons, balloons and many more delights!

The engaging, interactive text is perfect for emerging readers – encouraging them to read through the blend of letters and pictures – and has captured the hearts of both children and adults with its heart-warming illustrations and fun word play.

Established over 40 years ago, the AOI’s World Illustration Awards are widely respected across the industry, offering a comprehensive insight into the ideas, trends and techniques that are at the forefront of illustration today. Previous winners of the award include Benji Davies in 2015 for Grandad’s Island (published by Simon & Schuster).

Fiona

“It is such an enormous honour and a beautiful surprise for LOOK to receive this World Illustration Award. I was thrilled to be shortlisted amongst so many brilliant children’s books, so to be given this recognition from the judges really does mean a lot.

“There’s a lovely sense of things linking back up, because I first came across The Bright Agency at an AOI talk held at Somerset House six years ago. And I always visit the World Illustration Awards exhibition, so I’m incredibly proud to have been a part of it this year.

Fiona with her winning artwork, Fiona and Bright MD Vicki Willden-Lebrecht and Director Arabella Stein at Somerset House

“The concept for the book was an idea I had many years ago and when I eventually started trying to shape it into a book my personal brief was to produce a vibrant and playful story using double ‘O’ words. I incorporated the ‘OO’ letters into the illustrations to encourage children to engage with both the words and pictures together.

“The initial inspiration came from a pair of 2003 New Year’s glasses. The double zeros transformed into double ‘O’ words in my sketches and I started playing around with both the shape and sound, experimenting with words which worked well when incorporated in the image.”

“Once the difficult part of deciding on the sequence of events was resolved it was a real pleasure to focus on the artwork. I created every element of the illustration individually on paper, using stencils and rubber stamps to create varied areas of textured colour. Then I composited them together like a collage digitally, sometimes changing the size and colour if needed. This final stage came together relatively quickly after all those years of walking around with the idea knocking around in the back of my head.

“This book taught me to persevere with my ideas, even though they might not exactly fit with picture book conventions.”

“I find that publishers are often after unique individuals, so I think about what I love to draw best and let ideas grow from that. Of course, making books is a team game, so I’d like to say a big thank you to Greenwillow Books for seeing the potential in my idea.”

To see Fiona’s portfolio, please click here.

To work with Fiona, please contact Arabella Stein.