Skip to content

Illustrator Set to Draw Nottinghamshire Kids into World of Picture Books

Acclaimed Scottish author and illustrator, Ross Collins, will visit schools in Nottinghamshire from 25 to 29 January. Sharing his top tips for illustration and writing with more than 900 pupils, Ross will visits ten primary schools in the area as part of the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour.

Lively, inspiring and full of interactive fun, Ross’s events will be jam-packed with stories, games, and drawing. He will talk to pupils about working in the world of illustration, his inspirations, ideas and his love of doodling. As well as sharing his wonderfully mad-cap picture books with pupils, Ross will encourage them to explore their imaginations and inspire them to create tales and drawings of their own.

Ross has established himself as one of the UK’s leading illustrators of picture books for children. After gaining a First from Glasgow School of Art, he won the MacMillan Children’s Book Prize for his acclaimed debut Sea Hole. He has gone on to illustrate over 100 books and has won many prestigious awards, including The Royal Mail Book Award and a 2015 Scottish Children’s Book Award. His book The Elephantom was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal and was adapted in to a play by London's Royal National Theatre. Ross has also worked for Walt Disney, Axis Animation and Laika Animation Company on animation character development for films including Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline.

Commenting on his upcoming tour, Ross said:

I am really looking forward to my book tour of the Nottinghamshire schools with the Scottish Book Trust. These tours are a huge amount of fun and a great opportunity to meet my readers and get them excited about books! The applications from the schools have been amazing with so many creative activities based around my visits - it'll be a treat to meet everyone.

The tour is sponsored by Scottish Friendly Assurance and organised by Scottish Book Trust. Every year schools in up to 12 local authorities in Scotland and two in England receive author visits to inspire a love of reading, writing and illustration. The tour visits both primary and secondary schools and has enthralled over 70,000 children since it began in 1998.

Commenting on Ross’ tour, Calum Bennie, Communications Manager at Scottish Friendly said:


When you’re a child, books should be fun and Ross Collins is sure to deliver fun to Nottinghamshire kids in spades. In his own inimitable and memorable way he’ll bring illustrating and writing books to life.

Beth Bottery, Schools Events Manager at Scottish Book Trust, which is organising the tour, added:


We are really looking forward to visiting schools in Nottinghamshire with Ross. His books and illustrations are fun, engaging and pupils will be inspired by his enthusiasm for drawing and his action packed events.

Scottish Friendly has sponsored the programme for the past 17 years, touring some of the finest children’s authors and illustrators including new Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, Malorie Blackman, Michael Rosen, Jacqueline Wilson, Melvin Burgess, Steve Cole, Michael Morpurgo and Sophie McKenzie.

Need help?

Top suggestions
    We couldn't find any results matching your search terms.