The SAA are very pleased to be supporting the World Illustration Awards by sponsoring The SAA Agents Award for New Talent.
Arena Illustration 
Alex T Smith's seventh book in his bestselling Claude series, Lights! Camera! Action! is Waterstones Children's Book of the Month! Claude discovers a film set on the other side of the fence! When the two lead actors are injured, Claude and Sir Bobblysock are asked to take their places. Can they become movie stars with just the simple addition of a wig? Of course they can!
Prankmaster General is back again in The Diary of Dennis The Menace: Canine Carnage. This is the fifth book in the successful series written by Steven Butler and illustrated by the very talented Steve May. Steve's illustrations almost leap off the page with an energy that equals the comic writing.
Grumbug! is Adam Stower's beautifully illustrated new picture book, follow up to the charming Troll and the Oliver
Aleksei Bitskoff illustrates, The Adventures of Long Arm (Scholastic), a tale about schoolboy Ricky Mitre who is very naughty and gets into all sorts of trouble! After a bizarre toilet cleaning incident where his arm gets sucked into the U-bend, Ricky finds that when he takes it out again, it's many times its normal length. And so the superhero Long Arm is born!
We are delighted to be taking part in the New Designers (Part Two) Talk Programme this year. We will be holding a Q&A panel discussion with the help of The Association of Illustrators (AOI) about:
The Business of Illustration:
For those about to embark on a creative career, be prepared to be a business and BE SMART. For a profitable and sustained career as a freelance illustrator you must be prepared to tackle a wide range of specialisms including financial know-how, negotiation of terms, fees, contracts and PR & Marketing. Here's your chance to ask the experts about the Business of Illustration.
The Panel:
Chair Person: Derek Brazell - The Association of Illustrators Projects Manager and Varoom Publisher. Agents: Caroline Thomson - Arena Illustration, Andrew Coningsby - Début Art, Victoria Pearce - Illustration Ltd and Claire Meiklejohn - Meiklejohn.
The Business of Illustration Question Time will be held in the Talk Theatre at Business Design Centre on Friday 3rd July, from 2pm to 2.45pm.
Book your FREE ticket on the New Designers website.
Chris Garbutt's long-awaited debut picture book, It's a Groovy World, Alfredo! written by Sean Taylor, is published by Walker on 4th June.
Poor Alfredo is a frog who just can't dance. No matter how hard his best friend Marty (a smooth talking fly) tries to teach him all the fancy dance moves - all he ever does is Jump! Jump! Jump! It's just not cool! Or… is it?
Chris' use of rich colours with subtle washes, combined with his simple yet expressive characters gives this heart-warming story a really unique feel. Here's a preview of his gorgeous illustrations.
Chris Garbutt is represented by Arena Illustration.
Alex T. Smith's fantastic new picture book, Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion is published this month by Scholastic Children's Books. Alex artfully brings a new, cheeky little twist to the classic Little Red Riding Hood tale, setting his charming story in Africa with gorgeous hot colours and introducing a greedy lion to replace the cunning wolf. Our plucky heroine, Little Red, is a fearless little girl who won't let a lion get between her and curing her Auntie Rosie from a mysterious rash!
This 'riotous romp of a story' was Fiona Noble's 'Editor's Choice for the Month' in The Bookseller (20th February, 2015). She goes on to say:
“Little Red is not a girl to be messed with…. The spreads of her travelling to her auntie’s house are a particular joy: dashing, creeping and wiggling (with her trusty goat sidekick) past a glorious menagerie of giraffes, crocodiles, monkeys and more. There are quirky details to spot and savour, all decorated in a vivid palette of red and gold. Smith’s sense of mischief is everywhere, with moments of pure, joyful silliness…. As the parent of a six-year-old I have a strict standard of merit for picture books: does it still delight on the 10th re-reading? A resounding yes!”
Alex T. Smith is represented by Arena Illustration.
Ahoy there, me hearties! This month sees the return of Jim Lad and the Pirates Next Door in the publication of the much awaited, The Jolley Rogers and the Cave of Doom, (Templar) written and lavishly illustrated by Jonny Duddle.
While the Jolley-Rogers are enjoying a day at the beach, little sister Nugget toddles into a cave. When she doesn't come out again, Mum goes in to find her. And, when Mum doesn't return, Dad follows. Jim Lad is suspicious and sends Bones the dog to Dull-on-Sea to find Matilda before he too ventures in to the cave. Jim Lad soon discovers a magical haul of treasure inside the cave has bewitched his family. Will the cave's spooky inhabitant, a sinister sea witch, keep them prisoner forever, or can Matilda and Bones come to the Jolley-Rogers' rescue?
Jonny Duddle is represented by Arena Illustration
Arena Illustration welcomes Serena Malyon, a talented young Canadian illustrator to our list. Serena's beautiful and lyrical line, gorgeous colour palette and engaging narratives are sure to turn heads. We really hope she will find a good partnership with a publisher who will nurture her unique talent and use her enchanting images to enrich their books. She was named as one of the fantasy art collective, Muddy Colors 2014 Rising Stars and her work has appeared in Spectrum and Communication Arts.
Serena Malyon is represented by Arena Illustration
