Looking back at the inaugural Best New Illustrators 2008
As a new generation of ten exceptional children’s book illustrators are announced, Rebecca Wilkie looks at the careers of the original ten Best New Illustrators, three years after they were selected.
Two prestigious Kate Greenaway Medals and a BAFTA award are amongst the impressive achievements that have been notched up by the inaugural group of ten Best New Illustrators, selected in March 2008 and all unpublished before the year 2000.
The award announcement was greeted with excitement by the publishing industry and the illustrators’ work was celebrated in features in national newspapers and by an exhibition showcasing their original artwork at the Illustration Cupboard in London.
Nicolette Jones, the Sunday Times children’s books critic who chaired the 2008 selection panel recalls,
The coverage of the first Best New Illustrators campaign was huge, and all of the participants noticed an increase in interest in their work, in some cases including, for instance, more foreign rights sales. At home there was a splendid programme of events, involving winners and other illustrators, which stimulated discussion about picturebooks in many arenas.
The Best New Illustrators Award was first established as part of Booktrust’s Big Picture campaign, which sought to reawaken public interest in picturebooks and help to stimulate the then unhealthy UK picturebook market. Three years later there has been something of a shift in picturebook sales – according to the Nielsen Bookscan data for 2010, the pre-school and picturebook market is growing steadily in an otherwise declining children’s book market.
Nicolette Jones has noticed a perceptible change in the picturebook market, since 2008, saying
Bookshops are showing some signs of broadening the scope of their new illustrators' stock, perhaps because there was so much comment about how difficult it was for new picturebook talent to get established, and it may be coincidence, but I certainly see a bullishness among publishers about finding and promoting new talent.
When the 2011 Best New Illustrators are announced it will be interesting to see how their work compares with that of their predecessors and if it has been influenced by the innovative illustrative techniques and sophisticated themes that many of them employ. One thing is for certain – if the new generation of illustrators can capture the imaginations of their readers half as well as their 2008 peers have done, they are set to take their place in a rapidly expanding and rich tradition of UK based picturebook makers.
Oliver Jeffers
For many of the illustrators, being named one of the Best New Illustrators marked a turning point in their career. Oliver Jeffers, whose melancholy tale of the friendship between a boy and a lost penguin, Lost and Found, was turned into a BAFTA award-winning animation that was broadcast in the UK on Christmas day 2008, says,
Being in the select group of Best New Illustrators 2008 was an honour of the highest proportions and a huge milestone in my career. Since 2008 I feel that my career in picturebook publishing has grown beyond any realistic expectation I ever had, and I believe being a recipient of the award was integral to cementing my reputation in the public mindset. British publishing is some of the finest in the world, and to be considered in such high regard amongst such a stable of talent is very humbling.
Since 2008, Jeffers has produced a succession of acclaimed picturebooks featuring his distinctive dot-eyed, stick-legged characters, bold washes of colour and stylish design and production techniques – his most recent picturebook being Up and Down, a sequel to Lost and Found.
Emily Gravett
Emily Gravett, whose beautiful illustrations can currently be seen adorning Booktrust’s online reading journey on the Bookstart site, echoes Oliver Jeffers’ pleasure at being included amongst such an illustrious group of illustrators:
I loved being one of the Best New Illustrators. It was an honour being part of a group of such fabulous illustrators, many of whom I was and am a big admirer of. There have been many highlights since, but the greatest thing has just been being able to carry on doing what I do – and feeling like my career has become established.
Gravett went on to win her second Kate Greenaway Medal in 2008, for Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears and her anarchic approach to illustration, which in the case of Little Mouse, involves mouse-nibbled pages, interactive features and collage effects, continues to garner lavish praise from the critics.
Catherine Rayner
In 2009 Catherine Rayner followed in Gravett’s footsteps by scooping up the Kate Greenaway Medal with Harris Finds His Feet, a moving but ultimately uplifting story about a young hare taking his first steps towards independence. Rayner has continued to produce delightful animal- inspired picturebooks, the most recent of which is Iris and Isaac, a tale of friendship and polar bears.
Vicky White
Animals are also the primary subject of the work of Vicky White, who was one of the two debut illustrators selected in the 2008 cohort. White’s incredibly detailed wildlife illustrations for Ape (written by Martin Jenkins), captured the attention of the judges and she has since gone on to produce a second picturebook with Jenkins, Can We Save the Tiger?, published by Walker Books this year.
Lisa Evans
White’s fellow debut illustrator was Lisa Evans, whose sensitive illustrations for The Flower brought John Light’s story of a boy’s quest for beauty and colour to life. Evans has since illustrated versions of The Nutcracker and The Snow Princess for Templar books, as well as providing the illustrations for Holly Webb’s Rose series.
Alexis Deacon
For Alexis Deacon, whose books such as Beegu and Slow Loris had already received glowing critical attention prior to 2008, but being selected as a Best New Illustrator brought him welcome attention at time when he had been unable to illustrate due to ill health. Says Deacon,
Being among the first group of illustrators was a huge honour for me. It also came at a time when I was unable to work through illness, so it was wonderful to think that people still remembered my work and thought well enough of it to consider me for the award. Happily I am working again now and have had a very busy two years. I have begun teaching on the MA course in children's book illustration at Anglia Ruskin University. I have also been for a five week residency in the Galapagos Islands and taught illustration students in Iceland.
Deacon has written a picture book called A Place to Call Home, illustrated by Viviane Schwarz, to be published by Walker Books in 2011 and written and illustrated a picture book called Croc and Bird for Random House. He has also recently completed illustrations for a book for older children – Soonchild by Russell Hoban.
Mini Grey
Mini Grey had received national attention for her work before winning the 2008 award – she had received the 2007 Kate Greenaway medal for The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, so for her, being chosen as one of the Best New Illustrators helped to sustain the sense of excitement created by her Greenaway win.
I felt very lucky to be one of the very first batch of Booktrust Best New Illustrators, especially as there must have been a lot of eligible illustrators. I had won the Greenaway Award the previous year, so there was a bit of an ongoing glow of excitement. It was good for illustration to be in the spotlight - the illustrations play such an important part in a picture book. It's also interesting that most of the 2008 Best New illustrators also write their own books too, so they really are storytellers in words and pictures. Since then I've been a judge for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, and realised how tricky prize-judging really is, and had several picture books published including Traction man Meets Turbodog, Jim (written by Hilaire Belloc) and most recently Three By The Sea.
Like many of her contemporaries Mini Grey is not afraid to include jokes and references that are aimed at adult readers in her work – The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon is set in depression-era America and contains allusions to film noir. Several of the other Best New Illustrators, while being child-friendly, have a sophisticated, decidedly non-patronising approach to their readers: Oliver Jeffers’ work at times visually evokes the paintings of Edward Hopper, while in Beegu, Alexis Deacon, requires his young reader to think about challenging concepts such as alienation and belonging. In Addis Berner Bear, Joel Stewart also explores themes of alienation and loneliness, using an exquisite illustrative style that is reminiscent of Edward Ardizzone.
Joel Stewart
Stewart’s work is now set to reach our television screens, as he is currently designing, writing and directing a new animation series, which he hopes will be broadcast in the Autumn of 2011. Stewart says that being selected as a Best New Illustrator,
was great for me, because despite having been an illustrator full time for eight years, I really felt that for one reason or another I was embarking on new things. Firstly I had just made one of those shifts in my drawing that I think illustrators have now and then, that others tend not to notice but that feel very important, and secondly because I had begun to write my own books in earnest.
Since then I've continued to write, with greater and lesser degrees of success, and continued with the shifts. Career highlights include the completion of a second Dexter Bexley book, a series of which I'm very proud, getting to work with Michael Rosen (on Red Ted and the Lost Things), and also my ongoing creation of an all new TV animation series for Ragdoll productions. The television work (and hopefully linked books) really feels like the coming together of all I've learnt over the past decade, and a totally new departure.
David Lucas
For David Lucas, whose latest book is Lost in the Toy Museum, being selected as a Best New Illustrator was an affirmation that his work was reaching his intended audience. Lucas comments,
The Booktrust award was hugely important to me - it is vital for me to know that my work has connected with people. My career has progressed steadily since - and although I was probably the oldest of the 2008 Best New Illustrators I do feel that I am just at the beginning. I am more and more fascinated by storytelling and feel there is more and more I want to say.
Polly Dunbar
Like several of her peers Polly Dunbar has embraced mediums beyond the world of illustration – her successful Long Nose Puppet company stages versions of her picturebooks, including Shoe Baby and Fly Away Katie. Most recently Dunbar has taken her version of Penguin (which was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway medal in 2008) to the Edinburgh Festival, where it was very well received.
Polly Dunbar has most recently been Booktrust’s online writer in residence, blogging about her writing and illustrating experiences; she has also created a new series of picturebooks, Tilly and Friends and reached older children through her illustrations for My Dad’s a Birdman and The Boy who Climbed into the Moon by David Almond.
Books and reading
Donate
Have you read?
Most popular
- Most popular
- Most reviewed books
