Thank you so much, Children’s Book Council and the judges of this award!
 
I am honoured, grateful, surprised and delighted to be a New Illustrator at the age of 61! To Jeremy, Pip, Kim, Michelle and Blake – I feel guilty – you are all so deserving of this honour – may your careers flourish! Publishers and editors here, please take note of these fantastic new illustrators!
 
My art life has run alongside my publishing life for many years – and I’d always said I would never illustrate a picture book! I knew what was involved and I wanted my art to be a refuge, a place of personal expression, free from commercial pressures. But then Johanna Bell asked me in 2018 if I wanted to live in Darwin for 6 months. I didn’t hesitate in saying YES! Johanna had a vision – to create a nurturing space full of possibility for Top End artists and writers to collaborate on illustrated texts. So in 2019, I headed to Darwin to run the Octopus Story Camp with Johanna and 24 writers and artists.
 
Octopus was transformative, energising, and immensely productive – resulting in several fantastic published books and other innovative projects. And at the end, having observed the courage of the participants taking risks, and the fun and power of this kind of slow, collaborative book making, we looked at each other and said 'we want to collaborate with each other!' We started gently, meeting online – Johanna in Darwin, me in Melbourne – playing with the generative drawing and writing exercises we’d used with the group, always asking ‘what if’. It was a few months in before we realised maybe there was a picture book here.
 
So, thank you, Johanna, from the bottom of my heart. This book would not have happened without you. You are an inspiration, a magnificent creative star for so many of us, and a brilliant writer, collaborator, artist.
 
And I’ve got to experience the publishing process from the other side! Most illuminating! Big thanks to our agent Grace, to publisher Anna McFarlane for saying YES! For your wonderful instincts and nurturing support all the way through. To editor Sophie Splatt for your professionalism and sense of fun and for not letting me get away with anything! To the amazing Jo Hunt for your beautiful design. To Margrete Lamond for the razor-sharp art direction that came at a crucial moment and helped me make the pictures better. To Eva, Simon, Caro, Reem, Matt, the entire team at Allen & Unwin – you are the best, the most wonderful colleagues and friends – you do an incredible job.
 
Finally to my fellow adventurer and darling partner Craig Smith for allowing me to encroach on your territory. To my beautiful children and grandchildren and the magic of our blended extended family cluster - you bring joy and meaning to everything I do.