“Dive deep into the magical world of Owen Davey’s non-fiction picture books…From Bonkers about Beetles to Mad about Monkeys, Owen has shown incredible talent and skills and he’s going to share all his secrets”
This Masterclass will be hosted by Melanie Johnsson with guest speaker Owen Davey.
In this new Masterclass with Owen Davey, we will be diving deep into the magical world of non-fiction Picture books. Have you ever wondered what goes into making a picture book? Have you ever perused one of Owen’s picture books and thought to yourself “Wow how is this both informative AND beautiful”? Have you ever wanted to create your own non-fiction picture book? Then this Masterclass is for you!
In this two hour Masterclass on the 27th of November, we will be bringing you a joyful conversation between our host Melanie and Owen, who will share his experience creating super successful picture books, from figuring out the skills needed, the connections and the structure to all the tips and tricks when it comes to writing, illustrating and publishing.
This Masterclass is for you if:
• You’re an illustrator wanting to create your own non-fiction picture book
• You’re a designer/writer/maker who wants to learn the ins and out of the picture book world
• You want to learn everything there is to know about non-fiction picture books
• You are a huge Owen Davey fan (who isn’t?!)
What we’ll be covering
Why, What, Who
•Creativity & inspiration
•Skills needed
•The different types of picture books
•Why write a picture book?
•Who are your writing it for?
•Do you need connections in the industry?
Researching & Writing
•Finding a theme
•Doing your research
•How does the book share the information?
•Creating a structure
•Coming up with the contents page
•Editing
Illustrating & Designing
•Sketching process
•Illustrating tips and tricks
•Editing
•Designing
•Putting the final touches
•Failures & lessons learnt along the way
Publishing
•Building a dummy book
•Self publishing
•Contacting publishers
More about the expert: Owen Davey
My name is Owen Davey. My pronouns are he/him and I am an award-winning Illustrator from the UK. Since 2009 I have worked with many clients including (but not limited to) Google, WWF, Facebook, Sony, Lego and National Geographic. I have produced many picture books which have been published in over 25 languages all over the world. 'Curious About Crocodiles' from my non-fiction ‘About’ series with Flying Eye Books won Best in Show in the 3x3 Professional Show 2022. From the same series, 'Bonkers About Beetles' won Best in Show in 2019.
Where
This Masterclass will run on Zoom on Monday 27th November 2023. It will last 2 hours, with the final 30 minutes opened to questions (Q&A). The Masterclass will be recorded so you will be able to access it later on too.
Good to know
You’ll be able to write your questions in the chat box during the Masterclass - James and Melanie will answer them at the end during the Q&A.