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ASA Children’s Picture Book Illustrators 2014 grants announced

Monday, 5 May 2014   Books+Publishing
@booksandpublishing

The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has announced the successful applicants for its Children’s Picture Book Illustrators’ Initiative.

Funded by the Australia Council for the Arts, the grants support ‘the development of picture books, including comics and graphic novels’.

The successful applicants and shortlisted applicants in each category are:

Emerging illustrator’s grants ($10,000 each):

  • Liz Anelli (Lake Eyre, text by Pamela Freeman)
  • Leila Rudge (Mum Goes to Work , text by Libby Gleeson)

 

 Also shortlisted:

  • Mirranda Burton (Poppy Bushranger Cat, text by Kevin Pearson)
  • Eliza Feely (The Cloud Catcher)
  • Jennifer Tyers (Double Dipper)

 

Developing illustrator’s grants ($10,000 each): 

  • Trace Balla (working title: Rock-hopping)
  • Gwyn Perkins (one step)

 

Also shortlisted:

  • Justin Randall (The Visitor’s Guide to Dreaming, graphic novel)—the judges awarded Randall a further grant of $5000
  • James Foley (Statue)
  • Mark Sexton (The Changeling, graphic novel)

 

Established illustrator’s grants ($15,000 each): 

  • Freya Blackwood (The Great Rabbit Chase)
  • Douglas Holgate (Maralinga, graphic novel, text by Jen Breach)
  • Tohby Riddle (working title: The Yowie Awakes)

 

Also shortlisted:

  • Greg Holfeld (Monsters of the Deep, comic, text by Greg Holdfeld & Shane McNeil)
  • Ann James (Goodbye House, Hello House, text by Margaret Wild)
  • Anne Spudvilas (Swan Lake).

 

 

The grants were first awarded in 2012 as a one-off initiative, but received additional funding to run again 2013. This year, the awards ‘benefitted from significantly increased funding’, allowing additional grants to be awarded and resulting in the increase in the emerging illustrator’s grants from $5000 to $10,000.

The successful applicants were chosen from 50 applications by Walker Books Australia managing director Sarah Foster, author James Roy and illustrator Craig Smith. The panel noted that while the submissions in the established and developing categories were high, they were ‘less so’ in the emerging category. It also noted that the number of nonfiction submissions was ‘significantly lower’ than in 2013.

The assessors’ reports are available on the ASA website here.

 

Category: Local news