Picture Book Mentoring Group
Monthly online mentoring sessions to motivate, guide and support you in launching or rejuvenating your career as a picture book author and/ or Illustrator.
During these sessions I will help you identify your unique picture book superpowers, guide you in strengthening your written and illustrative skills, and advise you on crafting your best portfolio to flaunt your individual style to industry professionals.
In this safe, creative space, numbers are limited to allow time for vital feedback on your work and to air questions or challenges you may have. You will:
- – Receive 20 minutes of one-to-one feedback on your work of your choice during each session
- – Share your work in small group forum for constructive group support and motivation
- -Upload your existing portfolio to identify any gaps in content and explore how to best display pieces to tell your story and wow publishers
- – Hone your individual style and strengthen your illustrations in terms of characters, colour and composition.
- – Hear appraisals of your texts and storyboards, including advice on which synopsis to develop further
- – Receive homework to enhance your picture book practice, including agent and publisher research and self-marketing
- – Establish a set of personal goals with achievable time frames, which I will be holding you accountable for!
*This group is for students who have completed an intermediate level course on writing and illustrating picture books, or for professionals already working in the field who want support rejuvenating their written and illustrative work.
Testimonials
“I joined these sessions as I was feeling a little lost and wanted to gain some structure for my illustration practice. The added bonus is the mutual support and encouragement provided by the wider Group. Claire provides clear, considered and constructive feedback. She’s challenged me to approach my work in new ways and this have very much helped me to define and improve my work.”
“I would recommend anyone who wants to delve deeper into the field of children’s picture book illustration. Claire helps you to define your strengths in your style, she guides you through the process of planning your illustration career and helps you to put together a portfolio.”
“Claire invests herself thoroughly in the Mentor Group and makes a point of getting to know each student’s work in detail, carefully following their trajectories. She is consistent, supportive and constructively critical. For me, the course design, in terms of size (online small group environment) and pacing of the GMS (monthly meetings) are key strengths. I continue to gain insight into and develop my practice in this supportive environment. Not to overlook the fact that the sessions are hugely enjoyable too!”
“I have been really enjoying the Group Mentor Sessions with Claire. Claire is incredibly supportive and has a wealth of information about picture books that she is so open to sharing with her students in a friendly and kind way. Having Claire look at and comment specifically on my own pictures and dummy book ideas is incredibly useful and her feedback gives me a way forward when I’m feeling stuck. The monthly sessions are also great to have in the diary to hold me accountable, keep me working on the next steps and moving forward. As someone who lives quite remotely and has little local, artistic community the mentoring group has also given me the supportive network that I was missing.”
New places will become available in April 2025, please sign up to my newsletter to be the first to hear when applications open.
Check out my one-to-one mentor sessions here.