Journey of a Book

The Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators is staging an exhibition at The Brisbane Library  "Journey of a Book: Celebrating Books from idea to publication", a series of glass cases in which authors and illustrators display paraphenalia from the process of creating one of their books - early drafts, letters to publishers, inspirational objects and images that first got their imaginations sparking. Jennifer Poulter, author of "Mending Lucille", my first picture book, has organised a great display, including the rag doll that initially inspired the story, my ratty old sketchbook with the first rough drafts and scribbly thumbnail roughs, and an original painting which doesn't appear in the book - a character sketch of the little girl in the story.

So, if you happen to be in the area, and curious about where authors and illustrators get their ideas from, make a trip in to the Brisbane library. The display showcases 18 children’s authors and illustrators from south-east Queensland. If you'd like to see more of the process I went through when creating the pictures for Mending Lucille, click here.

​Jennifer Poulter with my painting