Frances McKay Illustration

Hack and Whack

I love Norse mythology, Icelandic sagas, and am fascinated by all things Viking, so it’s been a joy for me to write my first picture book featuring the worst Viking children…ever.

Hack and Whack are the terrible twins terrorizing their village, and I’ve loved imagining a Viking world where children are told off for sword-fighting on the table, but essentially run wild. All the normal constrictions of modern kids are brushed aside—these are Vikings.  They fight, they steal, they’re bold and they’re rude.  Children need a safe outlet for their emotions and aggressive feelings—what better way to explore their riotous natures than through literature?

 

was delighted when Faber’s Leah Thaxton suggested Charlotte Cotterill to illustrate, as I needed an artist with a wild sense of humour, and Charlotte has brilliantly captured all the antic fun of this book.  Long may Hack and Whack be on the attack.

 

Francesca Simon 

Hack and Whack was published by Faber and Faber on 5th October 2017.

 

 

Introducing Charlotte Cotterill

Frances McKay Illustration is delighted to announce that Charlotte Cotterill, a new graduate with an MA and a merit in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art, is joining the agency from June 2016.

Charlotte says; ‘In 2011 I began my degree in Illustration with Animation at Manchester Metropolitan University and I graduated with a first class honours in 2014. I love making picture books and have worked on 4 stories that I have written myself in the last 2 years as part of my university courses. I am inspired by my own experiences and my observations of the world around me.

I create images using coloured pencil and then add washes in watercolour and ink. Recently, I have also been developing artwork created in lino print, I print using black oil based ink and then add colour digitally in Photoshop.

I also have an interest in freelance illustration and have created work that has been displayed in Manchester Central Library as part of a competition from Manchester City Transport in 2014. I completed a two week work placement with Hallmark Cards in July 2015, and I designed an image to feature as the cover illustration for the March 2016 ‘Cambridge Edition’ magazine.

I grew up in Nottinghamshire with my family and a love of reading, drawing and playing the clarinet. I live and work in Cambridge.’

 

Charlotte's website: Charlotte Cotterill.co.uk