There was once an artist and writer, by the name of Yvonne Low, who worked every day
in a corner of her attic weaving words, drawing dreams and painting with poetry. She
would look through her window and try to capture the clouds or wander with the wind to
far-off lands. From dawn to dusk, she played with words and colours, teasing out meaning
and magic and all the while, searching for castles in the air.
One day she entered a wonderful world filled with other scribblers and daubers, word-wizards
and picture-conjurers. Like her, these writers and artists of SCBWI were also
looking for things that no-one else had seen, or discovering treasures that no-one else had
found. It was a good place to be.
Time passed and Yvonne plucked up her courage, gathered together her stories and her art
portfolio, and journeyed regularly into the city to learn, to be inspired and encouraged and
also to display her wares, at the SCBWI Sydney Conferences, master classes and Illustrator
Showcases. Publishers and Art Directors were there as well, looking for a tale not yet told
or a picture never before imagined.
Then finally, the word-wizard and publisher Sophie Masson discovered Yvonne’s work at
the 2016 SCBWI Conference Illustrator Showcase. Sophie loved her work and wanted to
whisk her straight away into the magical realm of Christmas Press. Sophie and Yvonne
met then and there and that castle in the air finally became a reality a few months later –
Yvonne’s first trade book illustration contract!
Jack of Spades by Sophie Masson is a thriller for 10-14 year olds, set in 1910 Paris, and
filled with adventure, romance and history (right up Yvonne’s alley!) Yvonne enjoyed
creating the cover and internal illustrations for this exciting novel, published by Eagle
Books (imprint of Christmas Press) and being released in April 2017.
Yvonne’s Bio
Yvonne Low is a children’s writer, illustrator and award-winning artist. She has written
poetry for The School Magazine and created a children’s CD cover for ABC Commercial,
My Nursery Rhymes Collection with Mark Macleod. Jack of Spades is her first trade book.
Yvonne is active with the CBCA (Northern Sydney Sub-branch) and is a Role Model with
Books in Homes Australia.
You can find more of Yvonne’s work at www.yvonnelow.com and on Twitter @YLcreate.