May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust 2021 Fellowship Recipients
Congratulations to these talented children’s authors and illustrators, who make a wonderful addition to our pool of 2021 and 2022 Creative Time Residential Fellowships. We look forward to seeing more of their inspiring work.
Emma Quay is an illustrator and writer of award-winning picture books. Her memorable characters for My Sunbeam Baby, Rudie Nudie, Shrieking Violet, Bear and Chook, Daddy’s Cheeky Monkey, and others are favourites on children's bookshelves all over Australia. Her brand-new title for young children, Rudie Nudie Christmas, was recently released. Emma, who grew up in the English countryside, works from a studio in her home and wanted to illustrate children's books for as long as she can remember. Her artwork is held in collections around the world, including the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Lorraine Marwood is an award Winning Australian poet and writer from regional Central Victoria with a background as a teacher and dairy farmer. She loves poetry and in particular the verse novel genre. She writes about the goldfields, country life, families, animals, mystery, fantasy, a tiny moment in time, a longing for something… In her previous May Gibbs residencies, Lorraine worked on two projects that went on to win awards: Star Jumps (Walker Books) won the Inaugural Children’s Fiction Section in the Prime Minister’s Award 2010, while the verse novel Leave Taking (UQP) was joint winner of the Patricia Wrightson Award (NSW) and shortlisted for CBCA and Queensland literary awards in 2019.
Sara Acton is an award-winning author and illustrator, who grew up in the Cotswolds in England and always loved drawing, especially people and other strange creatures. She studied BA Hons Fine Art and trained as an Art Teacher in London. After teaching and practicing art in England and New Zealand, Sara moved with her family to Australia.
She now lives in a small seaside village on the Central Coast of NSW, where she enjoys writing and illustrating for children in her studio, whilst drinking tea and eating far too many biscuits. When not in her studio she can be found out and about sketching and visiting schools, libraries and bookshops to deliver presentations and workshops.
Her first picture book Ben and Duck won the 2012 Children's Book Council of Australia Crichton Award for new illustrators. Sara is represented by Margaret Connolly & Associates.
Matt Shanks is a critically-acclaimed author/illustrator of more than ten picture books. Eric the Postie (2018) and Queen Celine (2019) were both awarded Notables by the CBCA for Picture Book of The Year. Round and Round the Garden, the latest addition to his beautiful Australian Nursery Rhyme series, was published in 2021. Matt is a previous fellow of the May Gibbs’ Children’s Literature Trust, co-editor of Words Like This. He lives in Melbourne, Victoria, with his partner and cat, and his illustrations are done primarily in watercolour.
Matt acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which he does his work and pays his respects to elders past and present. He acknowledges the sorrow of the stolen generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and recognises the resilience, strength and pride of those communities. Through his work, Matt aims to help as much as possible to empower and help them thrive.
Caz Goodwin is a Melbourne-based award-winning author of picture books, short stories, poetry and junior fiction. Her work has been published internationally and illustrated by Gus Gordon and Kerry Millard (Australia), Ashley King (UK), and Low Joo Hong (Singapore), among others. She heads the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in Victoria and is on the Young Australian Best Book Awards (YABBA) council.
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Libby Tozer
Fellowships Coordinator, May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust