The SAA are very pleased to be supporting the World Illustration Awards by sponsoring The SAA Agents Award for New Talent.
Children’s Books 
Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland has been a unique source of nonsensical artistry & whimsical storytelling for the past 150 years and will continue to inspire book lovers the world over for generations to come.
This week, Dan Taylor's vibrant sticker book published with Campbell this July and includes over 300 stickers for Wonderland lovers to enjoy.
Dan Taylor is represented by The Bright Group
The Bath Children’s Literature Festival was founded in 2007 by Gill and John McLay and has continued to be a strong presence in the literature world, currently maintaining the title of largest dedicated children’s book festival in the UK. This year, select Bright artists have been invited to get involved with the 2015 promotional marketing & fundraising for the event.
The ethos of the festival is, and always has been, to entertain children, and to enthuse them about reading:
‘We aim to create a friendly, family atmosphere in which young book fans can come along to Festival events and meet their favourite authors and book characters…Signing queues after some events are legendary and can last up to three hours for the biggest names.’
Each year an illustrator has drawn a Red Chair and produced a physical piece of artwork which has been used in promotion & marketing for the festival – previous artists include globally renowned Chris Riddell (2015 Children’s Laureate), Emily Gravett, Tony Ross, David McKee & Axel Sheffler, to name a few.
This year, the festival is staging a spectacular art auction to support the event and a handful of professional illustrators have been asked to donate their own interpretation of the Festival’s Red Chair, including characters from their own publishing careers. Benji Davies, Yasmeen Ismail, Gabriel Alborozo & Fred Blunt were amongst the chosen few to design their own Red Chairs for the auction – which will be exhibited in art shops & galleries throughout Bath in in the run-up to the auction.
SCHEDULE TO BE ANNOUNCED
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!
Following an award studded 2014 for Bright star Nicola O’Byrne - including the coveted Waterstones Children’s Book Prize - this year was already set to consist of gleaming prosperity. The BookTrust‘s Booktime story for 2015 – that is to be gifted to 700,000 reception-aged children in UK – is Nicola O’Byrne’s debut picture book, Open Very Carefully (Nosy Crow).
The book with bite, which was brokered by Bright M.D Vicki Willden-Lebrecht, has been a seemingly huge success with children of all ages, their parents & schools the world over. Kate Wilson, Managing Director of Nosy Crow, aptly describes why the book has been received so well by young readers -
‘With its invitation to interactivity, its humour and its stylish but accessible illustration, Open Very Carefully seems to have really wide appeal’
The Nosy Crow book, which is to be distributed to all UK school children aged 4-5, will be accompanied by a Booktime pack that provides guidance & notes for parents aimed at installing the importance of reading with their children.
With a reach of two million children & families, the BookTrust is Britain’s largest reading charity. As the organisation’s 10th Booktime story to be gifted to every reception child in UK, Open Very Carefully will no doubt continue to grace the shelves of more and more young readers this year – especially with the availability of 13 languages.
See Nicola O’Byrne’s Literary Portfolio HERE for previous titles, awards & upcoming projects.
Nicola O’Byrne is represented by the Bright Group
David has hit the ground running at Bright securing his first picture book deals in both the UK and the US. His distinctive style mixes colour and drama to inspire an incredible atmosphere which creates a huge scale from which to entertain his readers.
David's début Picture Book - The Bear and the Piano (published with Frances Lincoln), is available for pre-order now!
David first began drawing when he was very young, creating Star Wars & Indiana Jones mash-up comics for his older brother and sister. His illustration heroes and biggest influences are Albert Uderzo, Sylvan Chomet, Jon Klassen and Shaun Tan. He uses a variety of techniques to create his illustrations and considers himself to be a mixed media artist as he usually combines all the elements together in Photoshop.
David Litchfield is represented by Bright
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.
Diana Mayo has created some beautiful black and white images for The Owl and Pussycat.
Her lovely illustration work was much appreciated at Bologna and London Book Fairs.
Diana Mayo is represented by Artist Partners
Following on from a SOLD OUT Storytime Sunday with Sue Hendra last month, we were so pleased to gain the same fantastic feedback this time around at our April event with Ada Grey
With a 10am start, Ada Grey was raring to read her illustrated Hippobottymus (Little Tiger Press) to the crowd of eagerly awaiting children. Monkey impressions, Crocodile snaps, bubble dances galore – the group of avid fans were up on their feet joining in the jungle fun. After the reading, the families were invited to design their own hippos and colour in sheets of their favourite characters alongside the creative guidance of Ada (her bubble machine!) and Little Tiger Editor, Ellie Farmer!
Throughout the morning, the kids were making full use of the giant chalk board wall – doodling alongside both Ada & Laura – and enjoying the array of pastries & refreshments the Doodle Bar had supplied. Donations for Great Ormond Street Hospital were taken from start to finish – the Waitrose Easter baskets were a hit and kids were lining up for a signed copy of Ada’s book!
Ada Grey is represented by Bright Group
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.
