I am absolutely thrilled to be Illustrator in Residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this Summer. I’ve had such a long and happy relationship with this wonderful city and it seems a most fitting way to celebrate a quarter of a century in children’s publishing. It was Katie’s Picture Show that set the ball rolling in 1989, and over 50 books have followed, including another 12 Katie books.
But there will be much more than just Katie celebrations.
For the Alwaleed Islamic Centre in Edinburgh, I’ll be contributing to two events.
The first is a retelling of tales from the 1001 Arabian Nights on THURSDAY 14th AUGUST. Although I have never published a version of these tales myself, these are stories I love and have told many times over, especially in concerts with orchestras. The twist is that I will illustrate the tales as I go (and play extracts from a recording of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov to add to the atmosphere). Expect tales of Sinbad the sailor, princesses and pomegranates, and magical far away cities…
The second event, on FRIDAY 14th AUGUST belongs to Justin Marozzi, a writer and journalist who has written a remarkable book called City of Peace, City of Blood. It’s a history of Baghdad – a city that, in modern times, is only really associated with tragedy and war and bloodshed. But it was once considered the greatest city in the world, a centre of high culture and great learning. My part in this event is to chair the proceedings and it will be fascinating to discover the truth behind the politics.
After the excitements of Arabia, I’m off to Russia (in my imagination) for a very special and magical event: illustrating to a LIVE performance of Mussorgsky’s masterpiece for piano, Pictures at an Exhibition. This will take place on SATURDAY 15th of AUGUST.
While I’ve painted to the orchestral version (by Ravel), this is the first time I’ve painted to the original version, which will be played by Anna Cooper a brilliant young (14!) year old pianist. With pictures of goblins, castles and crazy witches, it is a really great way to inspire children to explore classical music. This event is sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Finally I get round to Katie on SUNDAY 17th AUGUST, with an event called Katie’s Picture Show, allowing me to celebrate 25 years of publishing stories about art.
A FREE BIG DRAW event follows, when lots of children can help me create a masterpiece…
Beyond, there will be school events and a mural in a local Edinburgh library… It will be quite a week!
Details of all my public events can be found on the website… Click HERE!
BOOKING OPENS TODAY!
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