Live Illustration Fight to the Death
Renowned picture book illustrators Adam Rex (UNSTOPPABLE), Molly Idle (CORAL), Juana Martinez-Neal (SWASHBY AND THE SEA), and Shannon Wright (TWINS) draw spontaneous suggestions made by YOU, the live viewing audience. A nail-biting no-holds-barred competition that will lay bare just how easy it is for artists to approach the same subject in vastly different ways—and lead into a discussion and Q&A about the illustrators’ respective processes in making books. It’ll be like The Hunger Games, but with drawing.
Panelists:
Adam Rex is the author and/or illustrator of a lot of books, including UNSTOPPABLE (illustrated by Laura Park), THE NEXT PRESIDENT (written by Kate Messner), and NOTHING RHYMES WITH ORANGE. He lives in Tucson and was pretty disappointed when the Tucson Festival of Books was cancelled this past March.
Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for Alma and How She Got Her Name (Candlewick Press), her debut picture book as author-illustrator. She also the recipient of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Medal for Fry Bread: A Native American Story (Roaring Brook) and the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for La Princesa and the Pea (Putnam).
Juana was named to the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor list in 2014, and was awarded the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize in 2012. She was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, and now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband and three children.
Molly Idle is the Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator of Flora and the Flamingo. She is also the creator of Tea Rex, and the mermaid tales Pearl and Coral. Molly lives and works with her fabulous family in Tempe, Arizona- where she can be found with a cup of espresso in one hand, and a pencil in the other, scribbling away on her next book. To learn more about Molly and her work visit IdleIllustration.com.
Shannon Wright is an illustrator and cartoonist based in Virginia. She illustrated My Mommy Medicine by Edwidge Danticat, and some of her clients include the Guardian, TIME, the New York Times, NPR, and Google. Visit her online at shannon-wright.com.