By publishers Nancy Conescu (Berbay Books), Lisa Berryman (HarperCollins) and Anna MacFarlane (Allen and Unwin)
The three of us were impressed with the quality and breadth of submissions for the SCBWI illustrator awards. To make our decisions, we reviewed the submissions independently, came up with top contenders in each category and met to review our respective lists. In addition to considering the award criteria for each category, we approached our selection as publishers and considered the viability of each project and the skill, commitment and talent of the artist. Was the story accessible for kids or too esoteric? Did the artist present the subject matter in a fresh, unique way? Would the development or research the artist planned to do be sufficient to tell the story authentically?
To be included in the shortlist, an illustrator had to have the support of at least two of the three of us. We thought the process would take multiple Zoom meetings, several strong coffees and maybe even passionate thumpings of our desks, but even though the standard was so extraordinarily high, we had no trouble reaching agreement and our selections were closely aligned especially in the Emerging and Developing categories.
In the Emerging category, we focused on artists whom we’re keen to see grow, whose ideas had originality and a clear audience, and whose samples or portfolio showed a commitment to an arts practise that would benefit from support. The resulting shortlist is an exciting group of talented creators, all of whom have the potential to be successful in the children’s market.
In the Developing category, we were drawn to the specific projects the creators were developing and we focused primarily on the books that had the greatest chance of being published. There were extraordinary works amongst these submissions from some of Australia’s most talented up-and-coming illustrators and we’re certain that many of these projects will be on our bookshelves in the future.
Finally, in the Established category, we considered both the portfolio and the particular project each creator shared. This was a tough category as all of the applicants had made significant contributions to the Australian picture book and illustrated fiction market already, and so we looked for projects that showed a clear understanding of audience, originality, skilful execution and/or conceptualising, that showed the artist’s continued growth and had the potential to be successful. The result is a shortlist of projects of enormous merit from a group of incredibly talented creators.
We applaud SCBWI for this initiative. The SCBWI Illustrator Picture Book Award has the power to make a significant difference for creators and we have no doubt that Australian children (and children’s publishing) will be much the richer too.
We’re looking forward to seeing the winners Laurent Linn selects from our shortlist.
Nancy Conescu Publisher Berbay Books
Lisa Berryman Publisher HarperCollins
Anna MacFarlane Publisher Allen & Unwin
Huge congratulations to all our uber-talented SCBWI creators who made the SHORTLIST
(drumroll please!)
Emerging:
Simon O’Carrigan, Ross Morgan, Yvonne Low, Dinalie Dabarera
Developing:
Kylie Howarth, Matt Chun, Benjamin Johnston, Aura Parker
Established:
Emma Quay, Danny Snell, Gabriel Evans, Kylie Dunstan, Trace Balla, Nicky Johnston