The SAA are very pleased to be supporting the World Illustration Awards by sponsoring The SAA Agents Award for New Talent.
pirates 
The Pirates of Scurvy Sands is Jonny Duddle’s swashbuckling sequel to his bestselling The Pirates Next Door and it’s OUT NOW! We welcome back the loveable pirate family the Jolley-Rogers who invite Matilda to get away from Dull-on-Sea and join them on a voyage across the sea. They land on the pirate holiday island of Scurvy Sands, run by pirates and exclusively for… PIRATES.
Come aboard the Rusty Barnacle, and discover Anna Chernyshova's charming illustrations for Captain Firebeard's School for Pirates, the best place to become the fiercest and baddest pirate in all the Seven Seas. It's Tommy's first day and he's extremely nervous, but after a new pirate name, classes in pirate talk and cutlass swishing, plus target practice with huge custard doughnuts, he's top of the class!
We all like a good laugh and what can be better to get your child hooked on reading than sharing a funny book with them? Former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, has announced the shortlist for the first ever Laugh out Loud Book Awards (The Lollies).
Ahoy there, me hearties! The Monster's Gold, Jonny Duddle's third book in the Jolley-Rogers series for 7 to 10 year olds, is published this month. Lavishly illustrated on nearly every page, this book is another swashbuckling pirate adventure, jam packed full of action and humour.
Sam Hadley has illustrated the cover artwork for Captain in Calico - the lost novel by George MacDonald Fraser. This was actually the first novel written by the author but it was originally rejected by publishers and put away in a fire-prof safe by the author which was discovered by his children after his death.
21st July, Bright and Puffin Books hosted a swashbuckling soirée to launch Fred Blunt’s debut author/illustrated picture book Captain Falsebeard in a Very Fishy Tale, aboard the 16th Century galleon, The Golden Hinde.
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
Jonny Duddle has been working as a character designer for director Peter Lord at Aardman Features Studio in Bristol for the last three years on the animated adventure The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists which is now on general release in cinemas. Jonny share's his experiences working with Aardman in an interview on The Pirates!Band of Misfits Crew Vlog:
"Peter Lord briefed me for the Pirate with Prosthetics during my first work visit to Bristol. He described him as a particularly unlucky pirate, with a variety of prosthetic additions, and that was about it. So I started off with a very scrawly sheet of ideas, from the practical (like a ‘fishing rod attachment’) to the downright silly (erm, ‘ship biscuit ear’?). Then Pete and Jeff looked over the first sketches with their wonderful eyes (the lucky blighters have more than one each which is testament to the relative safety of animation when compared to pirating), and sent me an email with lots of feedback, such as “Wooden teeth are a great idea”, “I wonder if you could design a head that has both the innocent simplicity of the first head, with some of the craziness of the second” and “I like his hook and the sort of wooden hinged arm that goes with it. No idea how it’s meant to move, but somehow I don’t think anybody’s going to worry about that! I read the feedback and got on with another sheet of drawings. This time I could pick the bits I liked from the first sheet, mix them up, and work with Pete and Jeff’s feedback and what they liked to create something which gets us a bit closer to a suitable design. Pete looked at the new sheet, and said the body was looking good and his favourite head was the one in the middle. So then I did a colour one in Adobe Photoshop, combining the body and the head that Pete liked. The proportions are a bit awry, and the colours changed for the finished puppet, but amazingly the Pirate with Prosthetics was pretty much done. All that was left to do was a turnaround, showing him from the front, back and side, and then the drawings were sent off to the model-making rooms, where the sculptors work their magic to bring it all to life."
Jonny Duddle is represented by Arena
CONGRATULATIONS! We’re proud to announce that Jonny Duddle, has won the most prestigious and valuable children’s book prize in the country for his picture book The Pirates Next Door (Templar). His book was crowned overall winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2012 which, champions new and emerging talent in children’s writing.
Announcing the award, Melissa Cox, Children’s Buyer at Waterstones, described the book as a thoroughly deserving winner: “The Pirates Next Door is full of the anarchic wit and invention children love in a picture book. It’s fresh and fun and has been a huge hit in Waterstones’ shops across the country, and had an incredible reception from booksellers, parents and, most importantly, children. Jonny is a huge new talent in the picture book field.” Book Trade
Jonny Duddle is reprensented by Arena
