Benji Davies : Goodnight Already (HarperCollins)

Meet Bear. He’s exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep.

Meet Duck, Bear’s persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear.

Jory John, author of All My Friends Are Dead, and Benji Davies join together to create this standout hilarious picture book that will make bedtime memorable.

Following his international success with The Storm Whale and highly anticipated succeeding book On Sudden Hill (both Simon & Schuster), Benji Davies illustrates this soon-to-be classic bedtime story with a charming twist on his distinguished style. A hilariously playful take on the friend who just won’t quit, sleepy Bear endures the annoying antics of his energetic neighbour Duck through beautifully designed and textured spreads.

Goodnight already! has quickly gained critical acclaim only having just been released in the US market earlier this week, and featured first on Buzzfeed’s 25 Ridiculously Wonderful Books to read with Kids in 2015.

Published 2nd December 2014 – Buy Goodnight Already! here

Benji Davies is represented by Bright Group

Simon Bartram: Bob and Barry: Curse of the Werefleas

Simon Bartram's Bob and Barry's Lunar Adventures continue in Curse of the Werefleas, published this month by Templar.

A big, hairy asteroid clips the moon and it take Bob and his dog, Barry, ages to clear up the itchy dust. Next morning Bob finds the itching is worse, and he has a strange hunger for  - meat! Under a microscope all becomes clear, the dust was actually thousands of WEREFLEAS, travelling across the galaxy, turning planets and asteroids into hairy, scary, werewolf -infested places with their cursed bite! Can Bob save the Moon from the same fate, especially if he's feeling hair-raisingly unusual himself? Fortunately, Barry is there to help him, canine-to-canine!

Simon Bartram is represented by Arena

Neal Layton wins School Library Association Award

Congratulations to Neal Layton whose book, The Story of Stars, has won the SLA Information Book Award for the under 7's category. The judges said that his book is… "a superb simple and straightforward book which informs through being totally entertaining: with working pop-ups, humour and an imaginative progression - it is a totally engaging delight." 

Neal's interest in life, the universe and everything has led to an amazing amount of research and his collaboration with paper engineer, Richard Ferguson has created a unique, child friendly view of the stars, solar systems and galaxies. Neal poses and answers the big questions that you might ask when you look up at the night sky full of stars and wonder: "what are they and where are they?". This book is the third in the series, published by Hodder Children's Books.

Neal Layton is represented by Arena

You can be an Expert

Duncan Beedie designs a poster for Scholastic in the US.

One of Duncan's most recent commissions is now hanging on the walls of classrooms and conveys an inspirational message; 'The expert in anything was once a beginner'. The campaign is to encourage children to dream and achieve in their choice of career, Duncan's child friendly illustrations do the job perfectly.

Duncan Beedie is represented by Illustration

Tado’s first book published by Scholastic.

It's been several years in the making, but we're very proud to announce that Tado's first picture book 'Monster Trucks: The Big Race' was published on July 3rd and is now available in all good bookshops.

Written by Jon Hinton and published by Scholastic Children's Books, The Big Race is the first in a new series of fast-paced, big-wheeled racing romps that follow Bolt, Chunk, Roxy, Fizz, Newton and Masher as they rev off on exciting adventures in a crazy world full of fun, laughter and a few spills along the way.

Tado is represented by Debut Art

Benji takes the Oscars by Storm

‘As soon as I saw this book I fell in love with the cover and hoped that the rest of it would live up to my expectations. It far exceeded them. The sort of book I would be proud and excited to buy as a present for every young child I know.’  Viveka Alvestrand, Oscar’s Mother.

Bright Author-Illustrator Benji Davies recently won Oscar’s First Book Prize 2014 for his hauntingly moving ‘The Storm Whale’. The £5000 award is held by The Evening Standard in memory of Oscar Ashton, a lover of stories who sadly passed away unexpectedly aged 3 1/2 years. The Bright Agency were ecstatic and overwhelmed to represent 3 of the 5 Illustrators who made it to the final five and secured the book deal for a 4^th:

Benji Davies - ‘The Storm Whale’ (Simon & Schuster)

Nicola O’Byrne - ‘Open very carefully’ (Nosy Crow)

Lee Wildish (& Charlotte & Adam Guillain) - ‘Spaghetti with the Yeti’ (Egmont)

Philippa Leathers – ‘The Black Rabbit’ was also a Bright publishing deal with Walker.

As a business celebrating it’s 10^th year in the publishing world, Bright are incredibly proud to represent over half the nominees on this list. Nurturing new found talent as well as supporting established names is a key factor in the company’s working ethos. The Bright nominees have grown with the agency and are just small examples of what can happen when agent and creative really collaborate to achieve amazing artwork and stories that then turn into industry-shaping book deals.

The final 5 were narrowed down from an original 57 entries by a panel of esteemed judges and some very critical young readers. All involved were searching for books that could easily be read by children under 5 as well as being appreciated by their adult counterparts. Judge Charlotte Ross said that the books on the shortlist were “both timeless and original, and we picked tales with images and words that fired the imagination”.

But overall, the winning book was picked because the judges believed Oscar and his vivid imagination would have loved it to – because of this, Benji and Bright are honored and truly humbled to be a part of such an amazing award.

Kristyna Litten: This Day in June

In celebration of Gay Pride this month, This Day in June illustrated by Kristyna Litten is published by Magination Press part of the American Psychological Society (APA). Written by Gayle E Pitman, a professor of psychology, the book aims to enable parents to talk to their children about all aspects of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, in a fun and inclusive way. The APA are committed to the promotion of the equitable and just treatment of all segments of society and this book is published to open doors for children to understand, respect and accept LGBT people from a young age.

Village Q posted a great review saying: "Litten's delightful illustrations capture the range of human exuberance, from shirtless leather folk to marching band members to grandstanding politicos in convertibles."

Kristyna Litten is represented by Arena

Alison Jay in Tokyo

This month we are extremely excited to announce a brand new exhibition opening in Tokyo, featuring the wonderful work of Alison Jay. The world famous Japanese artist, animator and director, Hayao Miyazaki, responsible for acclaimed animated films such as 'Spirited Away', invited her to contribute her stunning work to the Ghibli Museum's new exhibit based on the story of The Nutcracker. He has admired her work for a long time, and upon seeing her version on The Nutcracker,  published by Templar, he simply had to collaborate with her - what an honour! Her work will be showcased in its own room in the exhibition, dedicated to introducing children to the classic tale. Curated by Miyazaki himself, and in collaboration with the Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation, this is a must see exhibit and runs from 31st  May 2014 to May 2015. More information regarding the exhibit can be found here:https://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/

Alison Jay is represented by The Organisation

Just Published: Simon Bartram’s Up For The Cup

A story for complete and utter football nutters everywhere, Up For The Cup, by Simon Bartram is published by Templar this month. Simon's long awaited tale about his favourite subject - FOOTBALL, follows the tale of a dedicated football fan who's team have made it all the way to the cup final against the odds.

Simon Bartram is represented by Arena

Lorenzo Sabbatini and Giovanni Abeille

This month we are proud to announce the signing of not one, but two fabulous Italian artists! With varied portfolios and many years of experience between them, we believe Lorenzo Sabbatini and Giovanni Abeille have what it takes to continue their success. Giovanni has produced some wonderful children's illustrations for picture books and also a simpler, graphic approach for the educational market. Lorenzo is no stranger to the children's books either, with many styles under his belt - a truly versatile artist who is well versed in both traditional and digital media.

Both artists are now represented by The Organisation