Ripple - Picture Book Retreat

This year I was lucky enough to attend the Ripple Picture Book retreat at the beautiful and peaceful Holland House in Worcestershire.

Picture book makers gathered. There was a huge mix of experience levels, from people who have books adapted for TV, to people working on their first book. The atmosphere was beautiful and encouraging, with everyone helping each other with tricky plot points and sharing their knowledge.

This years guest speaker was Petr Horáček. Petr shared his vast knowledge with us and gave us a demonstration of his painting technique. Everyone was fascinated. I also had a 1-2-1 with Petr, where he gave me helpful feedback on my work-in-progress. He was so much fun and really inspired me to try new things.

We were also joined by Iman Khakoo, editor for Hachette Children’s books.

Iman shared her industry insights, giving a valuable peak behind the publishing curtain. She also joined Mike Brownlow in talking about how they had worked together on the 10 Little, and 5 Little series.

Alongside the learning and critiques, there was plenty of time for fun. From quizzes to paper aeroplane flying competitions, there was never a dull moment.