Yasmeen Ismail

Hilariously unruly, award-winning illustrator and author, Yasmeen Ismail has illustrated over 15 books and has written 12 of them. We particularly love Time for Bed Fred and Would you Like a Banana?

We had a fun chat for the course: Yasmeen shows us her sketchbooks and rough drawings and tells us how she makes her illustrations using a mix of handmade and digital tools. We LOVE Yasmeen on the Good Ship!

Alison Green

Alison Green is a successful children’s editor and publisher (and occasional author) with her own imprint at Scholastic who, amongst other accolades, brought together Axel Scheffler and Julia Donaldson to create The Gruffalo and other classics.

Alison has been my editor (Helen here) for many years. We made lots of books together, including How to Hide a Lion. In the Picture book course Alison and I talk about how we work together, what publishers are looking for in an illustrator, how Alison finds their illustrators and what you need in your picture book portfolio.

Polly Dunbar

Polly Dunbar is one of the best known author/illustrators working in the UK today. She has created many much loved books for children, including my personal favourite Penguin.

She recorded us a wise and insightful film from her studio, showing us her sketchbooks, where her book ideas start and telling us how she got her foot in the door. We are big fans of Polly at the Good Ship!

Louise Lockhart

Louise Lockhart has a hugely successful online shop called The Printed Peanut. She makes cards, designs packaging, her drawings appear on children’s clothing, teapots and tableware, and on top of all that, she makes beautiful picture books! 

Louise tells us all about her process, how her lifelong obsessions appear in her work, and how she keeps her work fresh, she got her first books published.

Beth Waters

Beth Waters is the author and illustrator of one of our favourite non-fiction picture books: Child of St Kilda. It was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2020, and images from the book were selected for the Bologna Illustrator’s Exhibition.

In the course, Beth talks about how she visited the island of St Kilda, how she met the family of a little boy who lived there, how she developed the idea and the distinctive colour palette, and how she hand-printed all the artwork.

Deirdre McDermott and Maria Tunney from Walker Books

Deirdre has been Picture Book Publisher at Walker Books for over 36 years and is a prominent figure in the children's publishing industry, working with all the greats! Maria is Senior Commissioning Picture Book Editor. They share an office and collaborate on many of Walker Books' well-known picture books.

Katie and Helen are making their Salty Dog books with Dee and Maria and they agree that, ‘They have a way of sprinkling anything we send them with a little touch of magic. A tweak here, a nudge there and everything sings.’

In the Picture Book Course, Dee and Maria chat about what makes a good picture book, what they are looking for in an illustrator (spoiler: Be YOURSELF), what should be in your portfolio and how they work as a team to help us make the best books we can.

Shih-Yu Lin

Shih-Yu Lin is a London-based illustrator who specialises in children's book illustration and visual storytelling. Raised in a small village in central Taiwan, Lin developed a love for drawing and visual storytelling from a young age. He moved to the UK to study children's book illustration and graduated from the MA course in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art in 2017.

He talks to Helen about the value of childhood memories in his illustrations.

Jarvis

You know Jarvis: his books include the Bear and Bird series, The Boy with Flowers in his Hair, This Little Piggy and Alan's Big Scary Teeth.

We are big fans of Jarvis aboard the ship. In his very entertaining film (there’s an impression of King Charles) he shows how he comes up with characters and how you can use your character drawings to spark new story ideas.

Jessica Hare

Meet Jessica Hare! She is Helen’s agent, and since Katie and Helen have been writing Salty Dog together, she is Katie’s picture book agent too!

Jessica Hare runs the Children’s Books department at The Agency. She was selected as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars for 2023. Jessica represents established and emerging children’s books’ authors and illustrators across every age range and genre. In her film, we chat about the role of an agent, what to expect, the kind of work she finds for her clients, picture book contracts and money.

Chris Haughton

Chris's debut book A Bit Lost has been translated into more than 30 languages and has won 10 awards in 8 countries. In his chat with the Good Ship, he talks about his journey into making books, from working as a designer, struggling with colour (yes, can you believe it!) and how his interest in fair trade drew him into working with a number of non-profit projects. 

We also chat about his new book The History of Information and his work to stop AI training on authors' and illustrators' copyrighted work. It is a fascinating talk, jam-packed with useful advice.

Sarah Dyer

Sarah’s first book Five Little Fiends won several awards and was translated into 10 languages.

Sarah has worked for some great publishers, writing and illustrating nine more picture books for Bloomsbury, Frances Lincoln, Otter Barry Books & Tate, and a series of non-fiction books for Templar.

She has also taught up to MA level for 20 years and runs a hugely successful Patreon. 

She chats to us all about laying out your picture book using thumbnail sketches.

Fiona Woodcock

For many years, Fiona worked in the world of animated films and commercials alongside her own illustration work. Her debut book Hiding Heidi was nominated for the 2017 Kate Greenaway award. Her other author/illustrator books include: Poppy and the Blooms, Look, Hello, Silver Linings, A Dot In The Snow and The Snow Dragon. 

Fiona talks to us about how she pitched her first picture book ideas, how she got her work under the right noses, and how she got her first book published. Juicy stuff!

Vivian French

Vivian has been writing for children since 1990 and has published well over 300 titles. She runs writing workshops for both children and adults, and is co-founder of Picture Hooks: a scheme to provide support for aspiring picture book illustrators. She has been a lecturer at the University of the West of England and currently teaches at the Edinburgh College of Art. 

She also has an MBE for services to literature and is basically the fairy godmother to all creatives!

In the Picture Book Course, she runs a brilliant character and story writing workshop, guaranteed to produce something special.

Jane Porter

Jane is a picture book author and illustrator: her books include A Little Bit of Hush (story by Paul Stewart) and The Girl Who Noticed Everything (illustrated by Maisie Paradise Shearring) – both made it onto the Sunday Times ‘Best Children's Books of the year list. Jane also runs an excellent online comics class and mentors authors and illustrators.

In the Picture Book Course, Jane chats with Helen about getting your book published, how to pitch to publishers and get your foot in the door.

Emily Haworth Booth

Emily is an author-illustrator and educator with a passion for activism. Emily explores the themes of power and rebellion in her picture books The Last Tree and The King Who Banned the Dark.

Emily teaches online courses on comics, graphic novels and the word-image relationship. She also mentors up-and-coming picture book authors and illustrators.

Helen chats to Emily about her latest children’s book PROTEST! which tells the story of people power from Ancient Egypt to the present day. 

Catherine Rayner

Multi-award-winning author and illustrator Catherine Rayner has written over 20 books for children and illustrated many more for other well-known authors, including Julia Donaldson and Michael Morpurgo. Her books have been adapted for musicals, television and theatre.

Her second book Harris Finds His Feet won the 2009 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, and Catherine has now been shortlisted six times for this prestigious award.
Catherine made us a film all about her beautiful work and about how she puts expression in her characters.

Jill Calder

Jill Calder is an award winning illustrator and lettering artist who blends traditional and digital image-making methods as seamlessly as possible, resulting in whimsical illustrations with broad appeal. As a result, her work is commissioned for huge hospital murals, financial and scientific reports, branding Scottish beer and whisky and children’s picture books.

Jill’s picture book Coorie Doon was nominated for the prestigious Carnegie Medal for Illustration. 

Britta Granstrom

Mick Manning and Brita Granström have been collaborating on both illustration and text for twenty-five years. They have pioneered Picture Book Non-Fiction. The World Is Full of Babies was the first non-fiction title to win the Smarties Silver Prize, launching their ground-breaking series Wonderwise. 

Britta chats to us about how they create their non-fiction titles: research, visual information gathering, writing and illustrating.

Gillian O'Mara

Gillian is a multi-media artist and writer of Scottish and Irish heritage. After making a few picture books (one of which was a USA Today bestseller) that didn’t make her entirely happy, she did our Find Your Creative Voice and Picture Book Courses. She went on to get a 6 book deal, an agent and a long list of book cover commissions.

She shared her inspiring story in the course.

Lucy Juckes

Lucy is a former literary agent who was an agent for authors such as Maggie O'Farrell and co-coordinated the Picture Hooks mentoring scheme for picture book illustrators. 

She talks to Katie all about how to find an agent, the agent's role, contracts, and money.

Libby Van Der Ploeg

Libby VanderPloeg is a Michigan-based illustrator and artist known for her colourful, detailed maps. Her work often focuses on themes of community, inclusivity, and empowerment. She has illustrated several books, including British Museum: A History of the World in 25 Cities and She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage.

She talks to Tania about making her book of maps for Nosy Crow.

Mique Moriuchi

Mique Moriuchi has illustrated over 20 picture books, including: My Village: Rhymes from Around the World, I'll See You in the Morning, and the Never Touch a... series. 

Since becoming a mum, she’s made a lot of illustrations inspired by her boys and her experiences and observations of motherhood. 

She talks to us about the power of a part-time job and the inspiration gathered from her part-time role as Primary School Librarian.

Rebecca Green

Rebecca’s debut picture book, How to Make Friends with a Ghost, has been translated into multiple languages and is currently in production as a stop-motion TV series with The Jim Henson Company. She has also illustrated the New York Times best-selling book Becoming A Good Creature by Sy Montgomery. 

Rebecca talks to Helen about her illustration process, how she chooses her beautiful colour palettes, her choice of materials, digital versus handmade and self-publishing.

Margaux Kent

Margaux Kent is an illustrator, artist, and co-founder of the design company Peg and Awl. She is known for her mixed-media drawings and illustrations, often featuring nature and found objects. She has contributed illustrations to published books, including Poison for Breakfast. 

She made us a brilliant book-binding workshop.

Tiffany Leeson

Tiffany is a prominent figure in the publishing industry, primarily known as the Creative Director at Farshore Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Before joining Farshore, she held the position of Art Director at Egmont Books for many years, managing the design and illustration for a vast number of titles.

She is known for her expertise in matching the right illustrator to a text and her focus on the collaborative process of creating books. She has also given talks and masterclasses at industry conferences, such as the Picture Hooks Conference.

Emma Farrarons

Emma Farrarons is a best-selling French author and award-winning illustrator, best known as the creator of The Mindfulness Colouring Book series, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. 

Her debut picture book, My Hair is as Long as a River, won the prestigious 2025 Klaus Flugge Prize. She is also the author of the new illustrated series for young readers, Wands Away: Learning to Fly.

She talks to us about pitching your picture book ideas and how to get published.

Camilla Reid

Camilla Reid is a bestselling author and creator of interactive early years children's books, with global sales of her titles exceeding 40 million copies. With over 25 years of experience in pre-school publishing, Reid is a passionate campaigner for early literacy, believing that "books are the best start in life". 

She is also known for co-founding the award-winning independent children's book publisher Nosy Crow. 

Reid has created several popular and enduring children's book series:

Pip and Posy series: Illustrated by Axel Scheffler, Peekaboo series: illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius, The Bizzy Bear series: Illustrated by Benji Davies.

Camilla chats to Helen about what makes a successful early years book.

Emma Block

Emma Block is an illustrator and author living in north Essex, working across publishing, editorial illustration, licensing, packaging and branding. She has written and illustrated many books, including her best selling painting books The Joy of Watercolour, Get Started with Gouache, Watercolour Life, and her latest book, Keeping a Creative Sketchbook. She has also illustrated the children’s book series, The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels.

Dr Sheena Calvert

Dr. Sheena Calvert is a designer, typographer, writer and educator. She teaches at the University of the Arts London and the Royal College of Art, across design, illustration, fine art and writing. Sheena is a great lover of illustration, past and present, and is a long-standing member of the editorial board for the Journal of Illustration (Intellect). She is interested in pretty much everything, and has over 50 typewriters and a letterpress printing workshop in East London.