Showcasing Children’s Illustrator and friend, Anne Ryan

This week the friend I’m showcasing is illustrator Anne Ryan and her latest book, the beautiful Salih, written by Inda Ahmad Zahri and published by Ford Street Publishing this year.

When Anne is not spending her time surrounded by brushes and a rainbow of paints, she is the Visual Arts Specialist at Wesley College Junior School in St. Kilda Road.

As with author Sue Lawson (showcased last week), Anne and I met at a Black Dog Books celebration, maybe a launch, possibly a Christmas party, and our conversation about children’s books, writing and illustrating, meant that we hit if off immediately and had plenty to talk about.

I attended the launch of Anne’s Unforeseen Circumstances, published by Lothian Books and written and illustrated by Anne, at Books Illustrated at Gas Works Park on July 17, 2005. Is it really that long ago? The next launch I attended was for the gorgeous Shadowcat, written by Julia Louse and published by The Five Mile Press.

In March this year I attended the dual launch at Ford Street Publishing of Salih and Frankie Goes to Kindergarten (Illustrated by Marjory Gardner).

I was very fortunate at this event to win one of the door prizes – a limited edition print of Salih’s Shell, available at Books Illustrated, here’s the link.

https://www.booksillustrated.com.au/shop/salihs-shell/

Anne has always supported me at my own book launches and was a loyal attendee at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Victorian events which I ran for nine years. We also had a lot of fun times at the SCBWI Sydney Conferences and at Books Illustrated.

To find out more about Anne and her work, have a look at her website:

https://anneryan.com.au/