Smile Cry

Jess Racklyeft works with a medley of materials including watercolours, paints and digital bits and pieces. She was selected for Luerzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators of the World 2013/2014 and the Etsy Design Awards, and has been a finalist in the Kids' Book Review Illustration Competition. Along with creating picture books, Jess works with Australian card companies, US-based agency Astound, and sells prints through markets and bookshops. She is involved in Illustrators Australia and writes for their magazine Outline. In her spare time, she creates paintings in conjunction with her young daughter. Tania McCartney is an award-winning author of both children's and adult books, with a particular passion for picture books. An experienced editor, illustrator, speaker and publisher, she has written more than thousand articles and reviews, both in print and online. She is also the founder of Kids' Book Review, one of the foremost children's literacy websites and the Facebook phenomenon, the 52-Week Illustration Challenge. An ACT Ambassador for the National Year of Reading (2012), Tania is passionate about literacy and has spent many years presenting and speaking on reading, books and writing. The writing talent behind the internationally successful Kid's Year series, Tania has lived in France, England and China, but now lives in Australia with her family. Her recent books include Australia: Illustrated and Smile Cry, a CBCA Notable Book for 2017.