Claire Alexander
I am based in North London and have a degree in Fine Art. As well as writing and illustrating children's books I am a portrait artist. I began designing children's books after completing a course in 2003, and was lucky enough to get a publishing contract with one of the first publishers I approached in 2005.
My first book 'Lucy and the Bully' came out with Gullane Children's Books in 2008. As well as the UK, it has been published in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and South Korea. It was shortly followed by 'Small Florence' in 2009. 'Lost in the Snow' is my third completed title and is currently awaiting publication. 'Lucy and the Bully' won the Patterson Prize 2009 for Books for Young People in the US.
In 2007 I gained a City and Guilds qualification in teaching adults. I then began running my own course 'An Introduction to Creating Picture Books' in a local library. The course is designed for beginners to writing and illustrating. We explore narrative themes and structures and students develop their own stories with convincing characters and experiment with a range of mediums to illustrate them. They also gain an overview of the contemporary picture book market, learn how to market themselves, and learn how to make a book dummy to present to publishers. I also run intermediate
courses and advanced support groups for people who have completed the beginner’s course.
Earlier this year I ran Chapter One Promotions Children's Fiction & Illustration workshop with more workshops due to be scheduled for next year.
