Blog

We are delighted to announce our latest ‘Before and After’ competition on the theme of ‘What’s inside?‘, which invites you to submit two images of a character before and after opening a parcel (no background needed), with an emphasis in expressing your character’s feelings and experience through their physicality. The competition will take place between […]

Calling all emerging children’s book illustrators! Our mentoring programme is now open. Don’t miss the chance to give your craft a final polish and launch your career as a fully-fledged children’s book illustrator. Paired with an established illustrator over nine months, selected mentees will develop specific pieces of work, attend masterclasses and meet publishers, finishing […]

We are delighted to announce our first competition of 2024, the latest of our ‘Before and After’ competitions, on the theme Ready, Steady… GO! There will be one Ready, Steady… GO! competition taking place during May – June 2024. The winner will receive a prize of £500, and two additional awarded runners up will both […]

We are delighted to announce our first competition of 2024, the latest of our ‘Before and After’ competitions, on the theme Fearful/Brave. There will be one Fearful/Brave competition taking place during February – March 2024. The winner will receive a prize of £500, and two additional awarded runners up will both receive £250.

Are you a passionate artist from a non-traditional illustration background? Perhaps you love drawing vibrant characters or telling a story through pictures but haven’t thought about doing a MA, or have honed your skills in a different industry altogether. Our buddy scheme pairs creative artists with established children’s picture book illustrators for six months to develop your […]

Celebrated children’s author and Picture Hooks co-founder Vivian French is no stranger to the power of illustration and storytelling to ignite young imaginations in schools. In collaboration with County Hall Arts, Vivian paid a visit to Oasis Academy Johanna in London to run a day of workshops and activities. This beautiful video, with music specially […]

We are delighted to announce our latest competition, the second of our ‘Before and After’ competitions, on the theme ‘Oh No!’. There will be one ‘Oh No!’ competition taking place during July – August 2023. The winner will receive a prize of £500, and two additional awarded runners up will both receive £250. Learn more […]

We are delighted to announce our latest competition, and the first of our ‘Before and After’ competitions, on the theme Quiet/Loud. There will be one Quiet/Loud competition taking place during April – May 2023. The winner will receive a prize of £500, and two additional awarded runners up will both receive £250. Learn more about […]

We are very excited to announce a new format for our illustration competitions in 2023! In 2020, Picture Hooks launched its first illustration competition to inspire and promote aspiring children’s book illustrators during lockdown. Since that time we have run 17 illustration competitions on themes like Seed to Table, Summer Surprises, Peace and Friendship, awarding […]

We are delighted to announce our latest competition on the theme of Kindness. It is taking place during October, November and December and there will be two competitions. The winner of each competition will receive a prize of £1,000. More details about the competition, including how to enter.