2022 SCBWI Picture Book Illustrator Awards Winners and Judges’ Report

The SCBWI Picture Book Illustrator Awards recognise the talent of PAL published Australian and New Zealand children’s illustrators, in visual narrative for picture books and graphic novels from early childhood to young adult. The Award is managed by SCBWI Australia East & New Zealand and is funded by the Copyright Agency. In addition, the SCBWI New Zealand Illustrator Award is funded by SCBWI Australia East & New Zealand.

There are three categories – Established and Emerging Illustrator Awards for Australian Illustrators plus a SCBWI New Zealand Illustrator award with prize money to assist an illustrator with the creation of a new visual narrative picture book or graphic novel.

Our stupendous judges are: Tash Besliev—Publisher, Affirm Press, Heather Curdie—Commissioning Editor, Penguin Random House Clare Hallifax—Publisher, Walker Books ANZ and Kristen Nobles—Art Director, Charlesbridge Publishing. SCBWI is so excited to have such wonderful and hugely talented publishing professionals for this incredible award. So let’s get to the winners!

Judging Criteria

1. Originality of the intended project 

2. Creativity of the intended project

3. Artistic and literary merit of the applicant’s body of work (assessed on grounds of stylistic and thematic achievement as demonstrated by portfolio and support material)

4. Ability of applicant to create an excellent narrative with a significant visual component (as demonstrated by portfolio and support material) which may be textual and visual, or visual alone (wordless).

Established Illustrator Award for Australian Illustrators

First Prize: Serena Geddes

Alyssa Moon – 120pp junior graphic novel (7-10yrs)

Serena’s submission stood out for its energy, enthusiasm, thorough execution and detailed outline of how she would use the funds, including an exacting timeline showing how she planned to achieve her creative goals, extending her into this growing genre.

Her story pitch and support material were clear, fresh, vibrant and frankly hilarious, showing the energy, authenticity and humour in the characters and situations that would be perfect for this age group. The narrative successfully approaches the important but often difficult subject of bullying from the perspective of the bullies, with Serena drawing on her own personal experience which lends added authenticity to the story.

In her pitch, support material and portfolio, Serena clearly and refreshingly demonstrated her ability to successfully execute this project. Her excellent rough storyboard extract and colour page sample shows a clear thought process towards how she plans to achieve her goals, leaving plenty of room for growth and feedback through the extensive and wide-ranging proposed courses for developing illustrative and narrative skills for this proposal.

2nd Prize: Kylie Howarth

The Waffle Crab – Picture book

Kylie’s proposal and support material was thorough and well thought through. She demonstrates and energy and willingness to explore new styles and techniques in an attempt to extend her skills as an illustrator and engage today’s emerging and reluctant readers in the reading and creative elements, as well as to encourage healthy eating.

We liked Kylie’s simple modern spin on an age-old traditional story (the gingerbread man), incorporating cooking and creative activities for the reader. These are reflected in the photographic food art elements she plans to develop in collage as well as expanding on her textural techniques using everyday elements such as leaves, seaweed, feathers fingers etc – techniques that the reader can easily try themselves (could be messy!)

The variety of styles in Kylie’s portfolio shows versatility and a willingness to experiment and expand, and this book would extent Kylie into a new medium and illustrative style, in the spirit of Illustrator Award.

3rd Prize: Max Hamilton

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter – Picture book with historic focus (5-8yrs)

We were captivated by Max’s proposed historical picture book based on her research into a young girl who grew up living in lighthouses in Australia in the 1930s and 1940s. Max has already gathered a lot of valuable material around which to write a fiction narrative and proposes to use the award to further research and develop the best illustrative and narrative style for the project.

In her support material, Max showed an extensive exploration of possible illustrative directions and how various researched story elements that might be included.

Emerging Illustrator Award for Australian Illustrators

First Prize: Peter Cheong

Layla – Middle grade graphic novel
(9-12yrs)

Peter’s submission stood out for its creativity and originality and detailed outline of the narrative. Peter was clear on how he would use the funds and it was clear he has a solid foundation in understanding the audience, competition and expectations in the growing category of graphic novels.

Peter’s pitch and support material was thorough and showed a true passion for the category. The narrative successfully blends elements of fantasy and magical realism and delivers a Studio Ghibli-like sensibility which would be a fresh perspective in the Australian graphic novel market. The sample pages in the support material demonstrated Peter’s innate skill in telling a story in graphic novel form. His clever and interesting perspectives, and sparse use of dialogue and text is cinematic in parts and will be hugely engaging for a broader readership than perhaps anticipated. The rough storyboard extracts show Peter has a clear process and plan for his story with opportunity for growth and development of his craft.

In his pitch, support material and folio, Peter shows his ability to successfully adapt his illustration style across different formats, audiences and genres. The result is a body of work that is authentically Peter’s, yet gloriously accessible for different readerships. It was clear to the judging panel that he would deliver this same level of adaptability and respect for the audience to the graphic novel category.

Highly Commended: Ross Morgan

The House of Collectives – Picture book

Ross’s arresting images of animal groups interacting with abandoned human spaces make intriguing subject matter for a picture book. His presentation was thoughtful, the content multi-layered, and the approach felt unique. Ross’s portfolio is appropriately filled with surreal juxtapositions and his ability to capture the atmosphere of each setting and animal emotions will serve this project well. 

The commentary on our shared world and message of awareness for sustainability in the future are admirable. Ross proposes to use the award to further develop the storyline and final artwork.

SCBWI New Zealand Illustrator Award

First Prize: Sandra Fay

A Kind-of-Cow Kind of Story – Picture Book

Sandra clearly met the criteria, as her submission was highly original – a very unique story, well written, well thought out, and distinctive in its humour and subject matter.

Sandra’s creativity in her medium (potato prints) was also a standout, with her unusual materials creating beautiful and textured illustrations.

It is clear that Sandra has a unique and particular voice, and this is an advantage in differentiating herself in the market as an author-illustrator.

Huge congratulations to all the winners! We are so excited to see all of these projects come to life!

The SCBWI Team

SCBWI Australia East & New Zealand would like to thank
the Copyright Agency for funding this Award.

SCWBI Success Story – Kristin Darell

September 2022 is a month I will remember for the rest of my life. It is the month I release my debut junior fiction book Football Fever: The Kick-Off, published by Puffin, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

This four-book series is the culmination of a journey that started in October 2017 at the Narrate Illustrate Meditate SCWBI Author and Illustrator Retreat in Wilton, NSW. Although at the time, I had no idea of how significant that weekend away would be.

So, what happened? Since 2012, I had been slowly shifting gears from a career as a broadcast journalist to immersing myself in the world of children’s literature. I had taken on the job of editing Women’s Ink! the magazine for the Society of Women Writers NSW, a role in which I worked alongside the incredible Susanne Gervay. As well as providing support and encouragement to follow my writing dreams, Susanne suggested I join SCWBI. I nervously ventured along to some Sydney events at Woollahra Library and was welcomed into the most generous and supportive community of children’s authors and illustrators.

I didn’t hesitate when the chance came to sign up for a weekend of writing and learning with this incredible group of people – a WHOLE weekend doing what I love with people who love it too! To get the most out of the experience, I also signed up for a manuscript assessment with Zoe Walton, children’s publisher at Penguin Random House. An industry legend! I was terrified and excited. The idea of developing my writing and getting feedback from one of the best in the business was both exhilarating and daunting. I had no reason to be worried. From the moment I met Zoe, she put me at ease. She had lots of constructive feedback and suggestions on how I could improve my writing, as well as great advice about the marketability of the story. Because the assessment was on the Friday afternoon, I had the whole weekend to put her advice into practice.

At the retreat, I found myself in a writing group with Susanne and the equally amazing Deborah Abela, Caz Goodwin and Julie Thorndyke. To say I felt like an imposter is a major understatement. However, once we started sharing our stories and ideas, I began to realise something incredible. Even though they had already written, and published books and I was a relative novice, we were all on the same journey of putting down our ideas, drafting, re-drafting… re-drafting again, editing, deleting … and learning our craft. The support I received was overwhelming, and I wrote my heart out. One session Zoe joined us, and I was able to share with her the changes I had made.

While the manuscript I’d been working on then didn’t suit her list, Zoe encouraged me to pitch book ideas and manuscripts to her after the retreat. She also offered to mention me to her fellow publisher Holly Toohey, who is responsible for publishing commissioned writing work as the head of brands. Zoe’s support and faith in me cemented my commitment to being a Penguin author one day.

Over the next four years, I kept writing and learning and writing and learning and building my connections in the children’s literature world. I submitted more writing to Zoe (still trying to find that perfect fit), I hosted interviews and chaired literature panels and shifted from attendee to participant at literary festivals. I joined the CBCA NSW Branch Inc Northern Sydney Sub-Branch committee (and I’m now their President), and I also took on the role as Program Manager for the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation.

Then in February this year, I received an email from Holly Toohey asking if I’d be interested in writing a four book junior fiction series being published in partnership with Football Australia. Zoe had recommended me to Holly, and they felt I’d be a good fit for what they needed. The brief was to write a series about a mixed club football team that was aspirational and appealing to girls and boys. Oh, and I had two weeks to develop all four book outlines. Of course, I said yes.

Now less than six months later, book one is about to launch, we are doing first page edits on book two, Football Fever: The Kick-Off, and I’m busy writing book three.

I can hardly believe it. I’m now a Penguin author. I will forever be grateful to Zoe Walton and the belief she had in me then and continues to have in me, and SCWBI for providing the opportunity that helped my dream come true.

Kris Darell

www.kristindarell.com.au

New JF book for Sue Whiting

Congratulations to the amazing Sue Whiting as we welcome her latest book

Tilda

a junior fiction title for 10+ published by Walker Books Australia.

Set in the fictitious Brushwood Convent and Orphanage for Girls in Adelaide in 1901, Tilda is a story of friendship, hope and resilience.

Tilda Moss refuses to believe her papa has abandoned her and left her, alone and orphaned, no matter what Sister Agatha says. A promise is a promise and Papa promised he would be back for her as soon as he returns from the war. But Tilda is convinced the dreadful Sister Agatha is out to get her. Why is she so hateful all the time? She insists that Matilda declare to all at the convent that she is an orphan. She is not an orphan and she will never say it! Something is amiss and Tilda and her best friend Annie need to find out what before it is too late.

How wonderful this book sounds!