Children's book Rally:11. Madi

I'm A Little Bit Scared Of...

By Madi
blog
etsy
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@madiillustrates

Do you want to submit your story? 

Please read our submission guideline here!

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Children's Book Rally with fantastic prize

This rally is now closed for submission.


We are extremely excited to announce our Children's Book Rally in collaboration with boutique children's book agency Frances McKay Illustration. We have a really special opportunity as our prize, courtesy of Frances McKay illustration and Mike Jolly of Templar publishing, a chance to show off your portfolio to a real industry vet! So please read on for our submission guidelines and details of the rally and the wonderful opportunity!


We will be accepting submissions as of today, the first posts in the rally will be posted in September, so plenty of time to get cracking.

Submission Guidelines 

• Only original stories or Classics please, so feel free to showcase your new concepts or old classics. As far as classics go, stick to the familiar for example Little Red Riding Hood
• Please submit two double page spreads, take care to note where the spine of the book would be and avoid crossing it important imagery or text, as this is a requirement of most publishers in the industry.
• Text if short can be included below the illustrations, no more that one or two sentences
• For longer text that you wish to be considered, please include a link to the story or synopsis on your site (please also state what these links are for when you submit them)
• When creating these submissions, you may want to add a 5mm bleed to outside edge of your original (spine not included) as if it gets picked by a publisher you'll need to add one! (it's not a requirement for us though)
• RGB 72dpi jpeg images please
• Please send us the links to your portfolio sites. (blog, facebook, flickr and etc)
• Send us a link to your twitter account if you have one, so I can promote you on twitter effectively.
• Please send your submission to illustrationrally[at]hotmail.co.uk with the title "Children's Book Rally".
• Only entries that are unpublished or not under contract by a publisher are eligible, if you are represented by an agent please include this so we can credit them.
• Note: Frances McKay Illustrators and Illustration Rally may enter but will not be eligible to win.
• Deadline is Monday 10th of October
• The winners will be announced the end of October 

Example Submission

By Donough O'Malley

Read the blog article about this book here, it's helpful!

Prizes!
The winner of the children's book rally will get to meet with Mike Jolly, an Art Director from Templar publishing who will look through your work and portfolio, giving you one on one advice about how to make it in the children's book industry.


In addition both the winner and the runner up will be featured on Frances Mckay's blog along with mentions for other noteworthy entrants. 


Frances McKay's blog is followed by the following publishers:

Hodder Children's Books
Random House Mondadori
Templar Books
Zoe Waring - Senior Designer at Scholastic Children's Books
Will Steele - Designer at Templar
Walker Picture Books
Heinemann Publishing
Penguin Books UK
Workmann Publishing
Andersen Press
Simon & Schuster UK
Usborne Publishing
Atom Books (imprint of Little Brown)
Scholastic UK
Nosy Crow Apps
Sortis Books

So if you don't want to miss this fantastic promotion opportunity to get noticed in the world of children's book illustration please enter, and best of luck!

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Artist 44: Abi Daker

A great big welcome to the fantastic Abi Daker! Cyprus based Abi gives us a real treat with her amazingly powerful work. Inspired by observation and influenced by aerial photography Abi has a really unique way of looking at the world and her happy fisheye lens captures all manner of fun and imaginative ideas and really brings the world around us to life. It's a great joy to experience the world through the beautiful palette of Abi's work. A painters eye and an illustrators determination compliment each other to produce some beautifully realised exquisite work. She has a natural flow about her work and a rhythm that gives her work a vivaciousness and happy vitality that will warm your heart and put a big smile on your face. Please read about the talented and wonderful Abi Daker below!

Who are you: 

I’m Abi Daker, an artist and illustrator who currently lives in Cyprus.

What do you do:

I draw a lot – I get commissioned by a real mixture of people; I’ve illustrated some children’s books, various editorial articles, designed a couple of wine labels locally and am currently working on a huge map commission. As well as illustration, I spend a lot of time painting, usually large acrylic landscapes. Paphos is a great part of Cyprus and some of the landscapes are amazing around here.

How did you start: 
I studied art at the University of Reading. After graduation, I started working as a mural designer for a nightclub chain, carried on working on commissions for people then discovered illustration after I was offered a children’s book to work on. This happened when my son was a baby and I found that I really loved illustration; it’s never stopped me from working on my paintings; I actually find that the two compliment one another quite well.

A Personal statement about you or your work:
My work is primarily hand drawn and is based on my observations about the world. I am especially influenced by landscapes and aerial perspectives. My work aims to represent the things I see in as positive a way as I can.

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