Melbourne based author/illustrator/designer Anna McGregor is devoted to giving her young readers original, quirky and conceptual stories. A ‘highly commended’ finalist in the Andrea Pinkley Award (HAIRCUTS BY HERNANDO), her debut picture book COLOUROOS will be published by Hachette in 2019.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
In 2017 I attended the CYA conference for the first time. As well as excellent speakers – i.e. SHAUN TAN! (via Skype, but still an incredible coup), there were many opportunities for exposure through the competitions and one-on-one editor assessments.
I had one of these assessments with Suzanne O’Sullivan (Hachette) for my manuscript COLOUROOS. On the day I brought along my rough illustrated dummy, and after going through the dummy and suggesting some changes, Suzanne handed me a much-coveted business card and invited me to submit. Four months later I received a formal offer, and I’m still pinching myself! I want to thank the CYA team for creating this event with so many real opportunities for aspiring writers and illustrators to break into the industry.
