The First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest - WINNERS!!!

Good Monday, everyone!

(Doesn't that sound so Shakespeare-y?  It's like Good Morrow :))

I know none of you has gotten a minute of rest or a wink of sleep for days, what with the torturous anticipation of finding out who the winners of the contest are!

The First Ever Pretty-Much-World-Famous Illustration Contest!!!

You've probably gnawed all the erasers off your pencils, bitten your nails to the quick, and lost 5 pounds from being unable to contemplate the idea of sustenance whilst in such a heightened state of suspense!  (That's okay, it means you can have triple helpings of chocolate on Wednesday when you stop by for Would You Read It :))

So I will not keep you in suspense any longer!

(I would not want to be responsible for one more brow wrinkle or gray hair of consternation and anxiety! :))

I just have one quick thing to say, which is that EVERYONE who entered this contest should be very proud of themselves.  You all showed up, put in the work, produced GORGEOUS book covers (which our authors are all so thrilled about!), followed guidelines, and worked to a deadline - all very important skills to practice when illustrating and/or writing is your profession :)  Even if you didn't make the finals, be assured that your illustrations were greatly enjoyed by many upon many!  Seriously!  I am not making this up.  The contest post with all your links had around 3 thousand views, which means lots of people were visiting you, even if they didn't all comment!  So we are giving you a round of thunderous applause - clapclapclapclapclap!!!!! - and you should pat yourselves on the back and have an extra slice of chocolate cake - you did good! :)

Also, I had a lovely time at the Hudson Children's Book Festival on Saturday.  I got to see my dear friends Iza Trapani (she of illustrious judging fame :)) and Nancy Furstinger, and I had the honor of being placed at a signing table right next to none other than Jane O'Connor (you know, Fancy Nancy Jane O'Connor!)  I felt like I was very much in the wrong place next to all that famousness!

And then I spent all day Sunday driving to Boston...

What?

You don't care?

That's kind of rude, don't you think?  When I was about to tell you about how I was forced encouraged to listen to Pink Floyd's The Wall straight through from start to finish at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning?  Which is not the most uplifting set of tunes, let me tell you, even though there's a lot of great music involved.  And I can tell you that by the end of the entire day of driving, certain parts of my anatomy were unComfortably Numb...

What?

Oh gosh!  Right!  I was supposed to be telling you about the winners!  Sorry.  My bad!

DDDDDRRRRRUUUUUMMMMM  RRRRROOOOOLLLLLLLLLL  PLEASE!!!!

The winner of the First Ever Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest and a portfolio critique by Michael Garland!!! is:

Julie Rowan-Zoch

with her stunning cover for Elliah Terry's The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster!

Congratulations, Julie!  That is some cover!  It knocked a lot of socks off! :)

In second place, winner of a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick Art Materials is

Donna Marie

with her bold and colorful cover for Mike Allegra's Goldilockup

Congratulations, Donna Marie!  Your cover was absolutely fabulous!

In third place,*

Louis Davilla Wiyono

with his humorous cover for Mike Allegra's Goldilockup

Congratulations, Louis!  Your cover was arresting! :)

In fourth place,*

Colleen Kosinski

with her winsome cover for Mike Allegra's Goldilockup

Congratulations, Colleen!  Your sweet cover made us feel sorry for the naughty Goldi :)

In fifth place,*

Anne Mitchell

with her delightful cover for Jennifer Caritas's The "Princess" And The Pete

Congratulations, Anne!  Your cover was so appealing!

In sixth place, winner of a Canson sketch pad and a small set of Derwent or Faber Castell colored pencils is

Tiemdow Phumiruk

with her mischievous cover for Elliah Terry's The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster

Congratulations, Tiemdow!  Your cover was such fun!

* Third, fourth, and fifth place winners each have their choice of any one of the following books:

      - Writing With Pictures by Uri Shulevitz

      - A Caldecott Celebration - Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal by Leonard Marcus

      - Show & Tell - Exploring the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration by Dilys Evans

      - 2014 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market by Chuck Sambuchino

Winners, please email me so we can talk details :)

Thank you again to all the illustrators who participated in this contest and treated us all to such beautiful artwork; to our wonderful judges, Iza Trapani and Lisa Thiesing, without whom we could not have done this!; and to all the readers and viewers who visited, commented, and voted to celebrate these talented artists!  It is all of you who make these contests fun and worthwhile!  Hear! Hear!  What the heck!  Even though it's not Wednesday, let's have a little chocolate all around! :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, ALL!!!

Have a magnificent Monday, everyone! :)