The Bookseller.com

9th January 2009

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Best new illustrators picked

31.03.08 Alison Flood

Children's Laureate Michael Rosen revealed the UK's best ten new illustrators at the Bologna Book Fair today (Monday 31st March). The final ten were chosen from over 250 illustrators by a Booktrust panel including author and illustrator Anthony Browne, Antonia Byatt, director of literature strategy at Arts Council England, and author Malorie Blackman.

The ten illustrators are Alexis Deacon, Polly Dunbar, Lisa Evans, Emily Gravett, Mini Grey, Oliver Jeffers, David Lucas, Catherine Rayner, Joel Stewart and Vicky White. An exhibition of their works will run at the Illustration Cupboard in Piccadilly, London from 17th April – 3rd May.

Rosen said: "This is a great time for the picture book. A new generation of artists in command of all the new technologies and with an up-to-the-minute view of the world has arrived. Every one of these makers of picture books deserves a place on a child's bookshelf with the inventiveness, wit and wonder they have given us."

The Best New Illustrators competition is part of the Big Picture campaign, which has also produced The Rough Guide to Picture Books, which will be distributed free of charge by branches of Tesco and Waterstone's. It will also join up with the Campaign for Family Learning and The Big Draw to host Big Picture parties at libraries throughout October.

children's Alison Flood illustrators