The Illustrious Illustrator Showcase

The 2014 Showcase, Tea and Talent, can be declared a success! Over 50 portfolios were on display, and an equal number of industry professionals turned up to view them. Publishers, agents, editors, art directors, representatives of the Copyright Agency, Books in Homes, Australian Council of the Arts, the Australian Society of Authors... oh my! Those attending gave tremendous feedback, praising the high quality of work on display. All the attendees we spoke to were very enthusiastic and claimed it was an extremely useful industry event, and we had many requests to make it an annual happening - wouldn't that be fun?

For a while everyone was so engrossed in viewing the artwork that it sounded like an very well-behaved HSC exam - the silence was broken only by the occasional heavy breather and the sounds of pages being turned. After a few cupcakes were consumed and the sugar kicked in it got rowdier, and everyone seemed to enjoy the opportunity to catch up with colleagues and discuss the work. 

The Illustrator Committee is not too proud to resort to shameless bribery, so there were prizes for the publishers who left the most written feedback for illustrators. First prize (the Moet!) went to the indefatigable Maryann Ballantyne of Black Dog Books, and second prize (mmmm..... chocolaaaaate!) went to Anna McFarlane of Allen and Unwin. 

If you couldn't make it, no need to miss out - you can view the online Showcase Gallery and visit the websites of participating illustrators.

“Fantastic. Incredibly useful, and very well organised. ”

— MaryAnne Ballantyne, Black Dog Books

“Definitely needs to be held more often than every second year.”

— Karen Tayleur

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Huge thanks must go to the fabulous illustrator committee!

Marjorie Crosby-Fairall (know as "The Cros" to her friends and enemies alike) for creating the showcase gallery page, managing  showcase bookings, handling logistics, and anticipating and troubleshooting all potential problems before anyone else had even got out of their pyjamas. 

Andrea "Unflappable" Edmonds for collecting and collating information about our exhibiting illustrators, and creating such beautiful bio cards to accompany each portfolio.

James Foley, A.k.a The Voice, for uploading images and bio to the gallery website. 

Day 1 Book Launches at SCBWI 2014 Conference

Day 1 Book Launches at SCBWI 2014 Conference...

Launching The Cuddliest Hug by Meredith Costain (Koala Books/Scholastic)

Launching Pearlie the Spy (Penguin) by Gabrielle Wang. With the story's villain (aka Frane Lessac)

Corinne Fenton launching Celia and Nonna (Ford Street) by Victoria Lane. Illustrator, Kayleen West.

Publisher, Lisa Berryman launched Pamela Rushby's new book, The Ratcatcher's Daughter.

#SCBWIAusNZ2014

Session: ROOM TO READ ... helping children in the developing world

Session: ROOM TO READ ... helping children in the developing world...

Report by Roving Reporter, Sarah Mounsey ...

Wendy Rapee, board member of the CBCA, spoke about the organisation Room to Read which is helping to educate children in the developing world.  She started her talk explaining that she believed that she was already preaching to the converted as every person in the room had been touched by story and reflected on her experiences of reading with her grandmother and being “transfixed” by stories as a child.  Room to Read aims to give these experiences to children in ten developing countries in the world.  Wendy spoke emotively about what the organisation had achieved already and what some of the plans were for the future.

Since 2000, Room to Read has built over 1600 schools, established more than 16,000 libraries and published 1000 children’s books in 27 languages.  The local language books are not sold but given to children in the ten countries.  They are also working with authors and illustrators in these countries and helping them to grow and develop.  Wendy discussed that lives can be changed through education and literacy and this creates a ripple effect that can lift desperate people from poverty.

Wendy also briefly discussed a special fundraising campaign created by author, Tristan Bancks to help promote ‘Destination Literacy’.  The goal of this is to reach ten million children by December 2015.  There are many ways we can all get involved.  For more information go the Room to Read website.

Extra report from Roving Reporter, Dimity Powell...

I loved how Wendy stated that everyone has that certain someone or something that encourages or touches them in some way with a book or story when young. For her it was her grandma and her family who impressed upon her the importance of story telling and magic of books.

It's inspiring how Room to Read aims to touch under-privileged children from impoverished and developing countries with words. They work with kids to improve their literacy through exposure and by developing a love of books and supporting burgeoning authors to create stories themselves. The ripple effect is world changing.