Congratulations to the winner of our Best Picture Book Text competition 2022.
Jessica Nelson
with
Otter Spotter
Jessica’s picture book text “Otter Spotter” was judged the winner by Kayleigh Keam after entries closed on 22nd August 2022.
About the Author
Jessica Nelson is an experienced psychotherapist and mindfulness guide with a keen amateur interest in nature, especially rivers and their wildlife. She has facilitated workshops for adults, run toddler groups and assisted regularly in primary schools. From a musical background, Jessica is passionate about rhyme and rhythm in language. She’s a competition addict and her poetry and stories have reached several long, short and prize lists. When she’s not writing or seeing clients, Jessica is often to be found exploring the local rivers on her paddleboard, watching for herons, kingfishers and – when she’s very lucky – the occasional otter!
Our Shortlistees
Cathy McDonnell with And Then
Cathy McDonnell lives in the countryside with her husband and three children. She is surrounded by animals and inspiration. Cathy enjoys working as a primary school teacher and is passionate about creating empowering stories that promote imagination and develop a love of language. Cathy graduated from The Golden Egg Academy Picture Book Programme in 2021 and is a member of the WriteMentor Hub.
Tom Lancaster with EURGH! YUCK! That Isn’t Poo!
Tom, a committed and fairly militant pantser, has been a prolific writer of picture books in both verse and prose for five years. He’s previously been shortlisted and had four stories longlisted for the WriteMentor Picture Book Award; shortlisted and longlisted for the Writing Magazine Picture Book Prize; and longlisted for the Stratford-Salariya Picture Book Prize. He was selected for WriteMentor’s summer mentoring scheme in 2021. Tom has completed the Golden Egg Academy Picture Book Programme and approximately four million other writing courses. He is prone to mild exaggeration. A member of SCBWI and WriteMentor, Tom participates in three picture book critique groups. He lives near Manchester with his wife, daughter and a squirrel-hating terrier, called Keith; and works for the BBC, managing BBC Sounds on smart speakers. Tom is currently seeking representation
Nadine Holland with I’ll Remember For You
Nadine Holland is an alternative provision art teacher and picture book fanatic based in Gloucestershire. She grew up in the era of leg warmers, cassette tapes and scary public information adverts and the world baffled her a bit, so she buried her nose in books and one day dreamt of becoming a writer herself – mostly so that she would finally know enough words to beat her grandad at Scrabble. Today, Nadine writes smart and funny rhyming picture books, chapter books and middle grade novels that explore themes of the paranormal, mythology, and folk lore; because that’s what she was obsessed with growing up. Nadine also likes to write books that support little humans in finding their way through the knotty, tangled parts of life and she hopes to inspire the next generation of curious children who dream of things that exist beyond the normal. Nadine is represented by Kate Scarborough at the Tyild’s Agency.
Nadine Holland with Mina the Mighty
Nadine Holland is an alternative provision art teacher and picture book fanatic based in Gloucestershire. She grew up in the era of leg warmers, cassette tapes and scary public information adverts and the world baffled her a bit, so she buried her nose in books and one day dreamt of becoming a writer herself – mostly so that she would finally know enough words to beat her grandad at Scrabble. Today, Nadine writes smart and funny rhyming picture books, chapter books and middle grade novels that explore themes of the paranormal, mythology, and folk lore; because that’s what she was obsessed with growing up. Nadine also likes to write books that support little humans in finding their way through the knotty, tangled parts of life and she hopes to inspire the next generation of curious children who dream of things that exist beyond the normal. Nadine is represented by Kate Scarborough at the Tyild’s Agency.
Louisa McLennan with Orla the Orca and the Keepsake Clams
Louisa lives on the Isle of Harris in the Hebrides with her young family. She has worked as a teacher, a journalist and rainbow-sand seller. She enjoys sharing songs and stories with children, sometimes in unusual settings like on a windswept beach, in a prison and in a refugee camp. Louisa was shortlisted for the 2022 Kelpies prize. When not reading and writing, she volunteers as a Shorewatcher−looking out for whales and dolphins and reporting any sightings−and though she hasn’t spotted an orca yet, seeing one is at the top of her bucket list!
Lindsay Hirst with Scarytale
Lindsay Hirst is passionate about picture books. This love was ignited in her childhood but it was over twenty years until she wrote one of her own. It turned out that it was even more fun than she’d expected−but also quite difficult−so she applied to the Golden Egg Academy Picture Book Programme. It was from this course that Lindsay slowly began to find her confidence and, by the end of the year, she’d also found her agent Lucy Irvine, at Peters Fraser and Dunlop. In 2021, Lindsay was shortlisted in the Write Mentor Novel & Picture Book Awards and then, in 2022, she became the first picture book writer to win a Scottish New Writer Award. Over the past year she has been mentored by the very talented author/illustrator Ross Collins, and her work is currently out on submission to publishers.
Matt Cuyes with The Big Bad Blob
Matt enjoys writing for children (and big kids too). Whilst working as a tennis coach, he loved making up funny stories to keep the children engaged. One of the most memorable moments was hearing the children recite his lines to their baffled looking parents. ‘Keep the ball in, to avoid the shark fin! If you hit it out, be careful, SHARKS ABOUT!’ Matt then swapped his racket for a trusty pen and started jotting his ideas down. He joined a creative writing group at The Story Museum and attended numerous courses on writing for children. As an aspiring picture book author, Matt hopes to introduce children to the wonderful world of stories and inspire a lifelong love of reading. He describes his entry, The Big Bad Blob, as a text that celebrates the art of storytelling and the power of your imagination. Matt has been previously shortlisted for Searchlight’s Best Bedtime Story competition and would like to thank all of the dedicated readers at Searchlight for championing his work.
Claire Lewis with The Dream-Travellers
Claire is an author/illustrator who creates funny or lyrical picture books in both rhyme and prose. Her poetry and illustrations have been published in PaperBound Magazine and The Toy. When she’s not writing or drawing, she does design work for an independent non-profit bookshop. She placed second in the Little Tiger Picture Book competition (2021) and has previously been shortlisted in the WriteMentor Picture Book Awards (2021, 2022) and the Searchlight Best Novel Opening for Children or Young Adults competition (2021). She lives in Devon with her husband, teenage sons and a very scruffy border terrier. You can see her portfolio on her website, www.claireflewis.com, and find her on Twitter (@ClaireFLewis) and Instagram (@claire_f_lewis). She is represented by Tyilds Agency.
Peter Frederick with Ug the Inventor
Pete is a professional persuasive writer with a passion for storytelling. His children’s stories are quirky, subversive and designed to make both children and adults laugh out loud. Pete writes mainly picture books but lists fairytales, non-fiction and chapter books within his portfolio, and is close to completing his first middle grade novel.
His stories have been shortlisted for multiple awards including Writing Magazine’s Amy Sparkes Picture Book Prize (2019, 2020) and Searchlight Awards (Bedtime Story and now Picture Book Text). He is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Away from children’s books, he is a published business author (Persuasive Writing: How to Harness the Power of Words, Pearson Business, ISBN 978-0273746133) and runs courses on using psychology, including storytelling, in business writing.