Ann James (1952–) Biography

Born 1952, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; companion of Ann Haddon. Education: Melbourne Teachers College, Higher Diploma in Teaching, 1973.

Addresses

Office—Books Illustrated, 15 Graham St., Albert Park, Victoria 3206, Australia.

Career

Illustrator and author. Art teacher at Doveton High School and Ringwood High School, 1974–77; Ministry of Education's Publication Branch, Victoria, Australia, designer and illustrator in art and design department, 1978–88; freelance illustrator, 1981–. Books Illustrated Gallery, Victoria, co-director with Ann Haddon, 1988–; director of Nutcote Trust. Exhibitions: Work included in permanent collections at Lou Rees Archives at University of Canberra, Dromkeen Collection, Fremantle Children's Literature Centre, Seasons Gallery, and Customs House Gallery.

Member

Australian Society of Authors (illustrator's representative to committee of management, 1995–), Society of Book Illustrators (coordinator).

Honors Awards

Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Junior Book of the Year designation, 1984, for Bernice Knows Best; CBCA Book of the Year Highly Commended designation, 1984, for Penny Pollard's Diary; CBCA Book of the Year Younger Honour, 1988, for Looking out for Sampson; Best Books for Babies award shortlist (United Kingdom), for One Day: A Very First Dictionary; Young Australian Best Book Awards (YABBA) short-list, 1999, for Midnight Gang; KOALA and YABBA awards shortlist, 2002, for Midnight Gang; Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature shortlist, New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards shortlist, and CBCA Picture Book award shortlist, all 2004, all for Shutting the Chooks In.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN; SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The ABC of What You Can Be, Sugar and Snails Press, 1984.

One Day: A Very First Dictionary, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1989.

Finding Jack, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1992.

(With Ann Haddon) Books Illustrated, Ashton Scholastic, 1994.

ILLUSTRATOR

Gwenda Smyth, A Pet for Mrs. Arbuckle, Thomas Nelson, 1981.

Jenny Wagner, Jo Jo and Mike, Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Max Dann, Bernice Knows Best, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1983.

Robin Klein, Penny Pollard's Diary, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1983, reprinted, Hodder Headline (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Robin Klein, Snakes and Ladders, Dent, 1984.

Where's My Shoe?, Longman Cheshire, 1984.

Robin Klein, Penny Pollard's Letters, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1984, reprinted, Hodder Headline (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Robin Klein, Penny Pollard in Print, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1986.

Dangers and Disasters, Methuen, 1986.

Libby Hathorn, Looking out for Sampson, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1987.

Hazel Edwards, Sportsmad, Bookshelf, 1987.

Robin Klein, Penny Pollard's Passport, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1988.

Anna Fienberg, Wiggy and Boa, Dent, 1988.

Nette Hilton, Prince Lachlan, Orchard, 1988.

Robin Klein, Penny Pollard's Guide to Modern Manners, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1988.

Gwenda Smyth A Hobby for Mrs. Arbuckle, Viking Kestrel, 1989.

Julia MacClelland, First at Last, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1990.

Pippa MacPherson, Beryl and Bertha at the Beach, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1990.

Judith Worthy, Amy the Indefatigable Autograph Hunter, Angus & Robertson (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1990.

Mike Dumbleton, Dial-a-Croc, Orchard (London, England), 1991.

Gillian Rubinstein, Dog in, Cat Out, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 1991.

Kathleen Hill, The Ding Dong Daily, Heinemann (Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1991.

Kathleen Hill, The Ding Dong Daily Extra, Heinemann (Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1992.

Rod Quantock, The Backsack Bulletin, Mammoth Australia, 1992.

Margaret Clarke, Ripper and Fang, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 1992.

Errol Broome, Tangles, Little Ark, 1993.

Roger Vaughn Carr, The Butterfly, Ashton Scholastic, 1994.

Errol Broome, Rockhopper, Little Ark, 1994.

Wendy Orr, Jessica Joan, Reed, 1994.

Wendy Orr, Snap, Reed, 1994.

Anna Fienberg, Madeline the Mermaid, and Other Fishy Tales, Allen & Unwin (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Libby Gleeson, Hannah Plus One, Puffin, 1996.

Anna Fienberg, Dead Sailors Don't Bite, Allen & Unwin (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Anna Fienberg, Pirate Trouble for Wiggy & Boa, Allen & Unwin (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Margaret Wild, The Midnight Gang, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 1997.

Krista Bell, Pidge, Allen & Unwin (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Janeen Brian, Dog Star, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 1997.

Ted Greenwood, After Dusk, Penguin (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 1997.

Jeri Kroll, A Coat of Cats, Lothian (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Kate Walker, Elephant Lunch, Omnibus Books (Malvern, South Australia, Australia), 1998.

Errol Broome, Magnus Maybe, Allen & Unwin (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Julia McClelland, Lizzie and Smiley, Penguin (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 1999.

Robin Klein, Penny Pollard's Scrapbook, Hodder Headline (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Libby Gleeson, Hannah and the Tomorrow Room, Penguin (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 1999.

Margaret Wild, The Midnight Feast, ABC Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Tania Cox, Baby, Working Title Press, 2000.

Errol Broome, Missing Mem, Allen & Unwin (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Libby Gleeson, Shutting in the Chooks, Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Margaret Wild, Midnight Babies, Clarion (New York, NY), 2002.

David Bedford, The Way I Love You, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2005.

Sidelights

"I've always liked to draw from my memory—from my head as we said when we were kids," children's book author and illustrator Ann James once told SATA. "It surprises me what comes out. But quite often, for illustration, I need to draw or paint things I don't know much about, like motorbikes or aardvarks, so I need to hunt these things out—pore over photos, devour books, scan the horizons. People and animals are the things I know best, and their expressions and moods interest me a lot.

"I like to do most things quickly, and my illustrations reflect this. I use materials that allow a spontaneous approach and have a life of their own. I like surprises, and happy accidents are welcome. Since I am a bit of a perfectionist, each piece of finished artwork has a long history—lots of preparatory drawings and self-rejected attempts. My photocopier is one of my handiest tools. It saves me from hours of tedious copying and redrawing.

"Other people's work is a great inspiration to me, and I have collected quite a library of illustrated books. Ann Haddon and I set up a gallery called Books Illustrated so that other people could have the opportunity to see the original artwork for children's books. We gather these from all over and have lots of exhibitions and visitors; many come to participate in our classes and workshops. We have a book shop, too, so I'm a bit of a jack-of-all-trades."