Australian comic book cretaors Douglas Holgate and Justin Randall have been announced as some of the recipients of grants under the Children’s Picture Book Illustrators’ Initiative. The Australian Society of Authors awarded the creators in the Developing Illustrator’s and Established Illustrator’s categories.
Fifty applications were received from emerging, developing and established Australian illustrators. Applications were assessed by Sarah Foster, Publisher and Managing Director of Walker Books Australia, author James Roy and illustrator Craig Smith.This year, the prize has benefitted from significantly increased funding, with three additional prizes available, and an increase in the value of grants for emerging illustrators from $5000 to $10,000.
Holgate’s Maralinga, which received a $15,000 grant, first appeared in the quarterly Australian anthology, Home Brew Vampire Bullets #1. It tells the story of a dystopian Australia in the year 2256, spinning out of an alternate history from the 1956 British nuclear tests in the Woomera. The beautifully art-driven story features a lone figure surviving against this perilous backdrop.
Justin Randall, was awarded a further $5000 in the Developing category for The Visitor’s Guide to Dreaming, originally the title of an exhibition of his works in Perth earlier this year. Randall is perhaps best known for his ongoing series of Changing Ways graphic novels for Gestalt. His unique digital illustration process is outlined in an interview we conducted with Justin last year.
Other comic book people that were shortlisted included Greg Holfeld for Monsters of the Deep. In a press release, the Society commented that “[t]he graphic novel submissions were encouraging, in the number and quality of applications.
In the Emerging category the following artists were shortlisted:
Liz Anelli – Lake Eyre (text by Pamela Freeman)
Mirranda Burton – Poppy Bushranger Cat (text by Kevin Pearson)
Eliza Feely – The Cloud Catcher
Leila Rudge – Mum Goes to Work (text by Libby Gleeson)
Jennifer Tyers – Double Dipper
The Emerging Illustrator’s grants of $10,000 each were awarded to Liz Anelli and Leila Rudge.
In the Developing category the following artists were shortlisted:
Trace Balla – Rock-hopping (working title)
James Foley – Statue
Gwyn Perkins – one step
Justin Randall – The Visitor’s Guide to Dreaming (graphic novel)
Mark Sexton – The Changeling (graphic novel)
The Developing Illustrator’s grants of $10,000 each were awarded to Trace Balla and Gwyn Perkins. The judges awarded a further grant of $5000 to Justin Randall.
In the Established category the following artists were shortlisted:
Freya Blackwood – The Great Rabbit Chase
Greg Holfeld – Monsters of the Deep (comic – text by Greg Holdfeld and Shane McNeil)
Douglas Holgate – Maralinga (graphic novel – text by Jen Breach)
Ann James – Goodbye House, Hello House (text by Margaret Wild)
Tohby Riddle – The Yowie Awakes (working title)
Anne Spudvilas – Swan Lake
The Established Illustrator’s grants of $15,000 each were awarded to Freya Blackwood, Douglas Holgate and Tohby Riddle.
