Come and chat to NICK SHARRATT about his debut novel, The Cat and the King, on Thursday 1 September, at 4pm

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello

Nick Sharratt will be joining us on Thursday 1 September at 4pm to discuss his debut novel, The Cat and the King.

Nick Sharratt is one of the UK's favourite and most acclaimed illustrators, with over 250 books to his name; including the bestselling novels by Jacqueline Wilson. He has won every major award for his illustration and even been presented with a gold Blue Peter badge! Nick lives in Brighton.

Nick's fabulously funny debut novel, The Cat and the King, tells the story of a gentle, unworldly King and his very clever cat. Gloriously illustrated throughout in two colours, The Cat and the King is brimming with warmth, fun, and Nick’s irresistible wit. Find Nick at @nicksharratt1.

Nick will be speaking at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival later this year. This is the largest dedicated children’s book festival in Europe and regularly attracts some of the biggest children’s authors and illustrators from the UK and internationally.

Please do join us on the day or leave your question here in advance if you can’t make it!

Thanks
MNHQ

Hello Nick
Sneaking in in an unofficial capacity to say that I came with the DC to an event once and queued up to have our copies of Pants and More Pants signed by you. You were LOVELY (despite a line half a mile long) and my kids still talk about it today. They are 10 (ie 17 and back-chat )and 14 (first-person shooters and a sullen snarl) now !

@Bathfestivals

Hi Nick! Thank you for illustrating the cover of this year's #BathKidsLitFest brochure. We're looking forward to seeing you at the festival. What does it mean to you to be involved in events like this?

It's a lovely part of my job to participate in book festivals all over the country and meet my readers face-to-face, I'm really looking forward to coming to the wonderful Bath Kids Lit Fest again this autumn.

@KateMumsnet

Hello Nick Sneaking in in an unofficial capacity to say that I came with the DC to an event once and queued up to have our copies of Pants and More Pants signed by you. You were LOVELY (despite a line half a mile long) and my kids still talk about it today. They are 10 (ie 17 and back-chat )and 14 (first-person shooters and a sullen snarl) now !

I am always so touched when people are prepared to wait a while to have a book signed and it's nice that the kids remember it (hopefully in a good way!)

@Cheerybigbottom

Hi Nick!

Me & my sprog are delighted to hear there's a touring show of Shark in the Park, thanks for that

I've a stupid question now. I noticed in Shark in the park on a windy day you had been to a primary school up the road from me in Stockton on Tees for ideas. Is this something you do often? It must be very difficult to put Childrens imaginings onto paper, and harder still to create a story they enjoy so much.

I find school visits and book festivals very stimulating and often come away with my head buzzing with new ideas. You can see the tour dates for Shark in the Park on my website here.

@sisterignatius

Nick, your drawings are so reassuringly vibrant and happy, even when your characters are troubled . Do you actually have a DARK side and can you draw when you're feeling cranky or miserable?

People never believe it but occasionally a bit of bad language goes on in my studio when I can't get a drawing quite right or something like that. So I can draw when I am cross but I don't think my dark side is particularly dark!

@lrichardson0

Hi Nick

What made you choose to illustrate the book in a selective palette of red, white and black?

It looks great!

It was an option that I was given by my publishers and I thought it would be great to try it. The artwork was actually surprisingly complicated to do but I'm very pleased with the result.

@snowysnowstorms

Hi Nick,

If you could do something completely different for a living, what would it be? Is there anything you've always wanted to try?

Being an illustrator/author is the only job I've ever had apart from being a paper boy. I would have had to have gone in for a creative profession, perhaps working in set design for TV or films, that had quite strong appeal when I was a boy.

@DontTellTheBride

I was just coming on to see whether you've had the illustrator's version of writer's block, but I see that's been done.

OK, a slightly more direct question as my niece is keen to get into illustration: is it easy to make a living as an illustrator? There must only be a handful who've reached your level - what about the rest and what do you recommend to forge a career in this area?

Thanks!

I'm not sure how old your niece is but I think I would recommend an art school training. You do have to have strong self-belief and as I've said before, tenacity is needed too. I think it's true that most of my fellow illustrators just HAD to draw from a very early age.

If you could be another illustrator, who would it be?

@Megansmumsie

Nick, i have always adored your work and my daughter loves your work too. We're looking forward to your new book. My moo will be first in line to read it. Like you, she has a blue peter badge- yours was for whipping up such fabulous illustrations for books, hers was for reading 365 books in 10 months. I feel you understand each other.

My question is (and probably not one you get often)- my daughter has written a book and i'm trying to illustrate it myself but i have arthritis so it can be difficult for me, i was wondering what obstacles you have encountered while illustrating books and how you over came them?

Thank you Megansmumsie. When I was starting out I often found myself illustrating subjects that weren't perhaps ideal for me but I needed to earn a living so I had to tackle them. I heard another illustrator once say that an illustrator needs to believe they can illustrate anything and I think that's true. Sometimes though that means doing a lot of lateral thinking! A massive part of the job is just getting the work done on time and that's a discipline that can be quite hard to master.

@NickSharratt

[quote Megansmumsie] Nick, i have always adored your work and my daughter loves your work too. We're looking forward to your new book. My moo will be first in line to read it. Like you, she has a blue peter badge- yours was for whipping up such fabulous illustrations for books, hers was for reading 365 books in 10 months. I feel you understand each other.

My question is (and probably not one you get often)- my daughter has written a book and i'm trying to illustrate it myself but i have arthritis so it can be difficult for me, i was wondering what obstacles you have encountered while illustrating books and how you over came them?

Thank you Megansmumsie. When I was starting out I often found myself illustrating subjects that weren't perhaps ideal for me but I needed to earn a living so I had to tackle them. I heard another illustrator once say that an illustrator needs to believe they can illustrate anything and I think that's true. Sometimes though that means doing a lot of lateral thinking! A massive part of the job is just getting the work done on time and that's a discipline that can be quite hard to master.[/quote]

Just seen about the Blue Peter badge - well done to your daughter!

@HarrietMWelsch

If you could be another illustrator, who would it be?

I've always been a huge admirer of Janet Ahlberg's work. I think her illustrations strike exactly the right note for a young audience and I wish I could draw like her.

@Mrscog

Hi Nick, I'm sorry I don't have a question but just wanted to say we've really enjoyed the exhibition all about you and your work that's been on in Worcester over the summer. My 4 year old absolutely loved it and wants to go again before school starts. Thank you!

Delighted that you enjoyed "Pirates, Pants and Wellyphants". It's touring for a while yet, dates are on my website.

Hi Nick-love the books, I was hoping you could give me some advice/suggestions for literary agents? (Also looking for an illustrator for my book series. Best, Nonnie x

Thanks so much for joining in, it's been great chatting with you.

Thankyou very exciting having you reply to me