WA illustrators longlisted for global prize
Kyle Hughes-Odgers and Chris Nixon have been longlisted for the inaugural Frankfurt Book Fair Global Illustration Award. Can a Skeleton Have an X-ray? and Pandamonia were among 98 works chosen from an international field by a team of industry experts.
Kyle Hughes-Odgers said it was great to find out his book, which is hand-illustrated in ink and watercolour on paper, had been selected. ‘It’s exciting to see my illustrations for this book reaching new audiences outside Australia,’ said Hughes-Odgers.
CEO and Rights Manager Jane Fraser said the listing was a well-timed boost just before the book fair. ‘Rights to Pandamonia have already been purchased by Abula Press in Taiwan, United Sky New Media in China and Kane Miller Publishing in the USA while Hachette-Phoenix Cultural Development in China has purchased the rights to Can a Skeleton Have an X-ray? Awards like this one can only help us find new publishers to champion the works of these talented Fremantle Press creators,’ said Fraser.
The Global Illustration Award is run by IlluSalon and sponsored by the Frankfurt Book Fair and the International Information Content Industry Association.
In a media statement issued in August 2016, Juergen Boos, director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said the award was unique, taking into consideration all forms of illustration, regardless of genre, subject matter and medium. ‘In today’s visually-dominated world, illustration and design are of increasing value and particular importance in the process of creating beautiful books. With the recent resurgence of print books, recognizing the valuable contribution that illustrations make in the production process is even more significant,’ said Boos.
The entries were judged by: Aljoscha Blau (illustrator), Andrea Wendt (founder of Agency for Illustrators), Bettina Schulz (editor-in-chief of Novum World of Graphic Design magazine), Thérèse Willer (chief curator at the Tomi Ungerer Museum, part of the International Illustration Centre), Till Weitendorf (CEO of Friedrich Oetinger Publishing House), and Xueqian Li (president of the China Children’s Press & Publication Group).
Pandamonia and Can a Skeleton Have an X-ray? are among works currently featured in the exhibition A Sausage Went for a Walk One Day: Celebrating Western Australian picture books and 40 fabulous years of Fremantle Press, which is showing at the State Library of Western Australia until 31 December 2016. Both books are available to purchase from the SLWA shop and from all good booksellers.
For more information about the award go to: http://www.illusalon.com
