University of Canterbury’s (UC) first Master of Illustration students will showcase their work to leading children’s book publishers at the national Storylines Hui in Auckland.
The Storylines Hui, to be held on 3 and 4 October, is the country’s largest gathering of children’s writers, illustrators and publishers. The students are the first to study the new Master of Illustration, launched this year and led by award-winning illustrator, Hilary Jean Tapper.
Ms Tapper set her publishing career in motion after attending a Storylines Hui as an aspiring picture book illustrator in 2019.
“I had reached the point where I knew I wanted to be a picture book illustrator, so I prepared a portfolio, made postcards of my work and went along determined to put myself out there,” she says.
“Three months later, one of the publishers I had met called me and said she had a manuscript for me. So, I know first-hand how important it can be to get your work in front of people and make those industry connections.”
She has since built a successful and rewarding career in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, illustrating over 12 picture books published by Hachette, Allen & Unwin, Affirm/Simon & Schuster, Gecko Press and others, earning a Best Children’s Picture Book (Australian Book Industry Awards), Storylines Book Awards and Foreverability Book Awards.
She says the magic of children’s books still captivates.
“A picture book can be a child’s first experience of art. Those images become part of how they see and understand their world. I love being part of creating that,” she says.
Now UC postgraduate Illustration student, Kaye Julian, is preparing a portfolio and postcards to take to the hui. Julian won the Gavin Bishop Award in 2024, which led to her first published picture book, and she hopes the opportunity to illustrate a second book will soon follow.
“Storylines Hui is an opportunity to meet publishers and show them what I’m working on. You hope that if a book comes along that feels like a good fit for your work, they’ll remember you.”
Having largely developed her creative practice independently, Ms Julian says she was “so excited to find UC’s new Master of Illustration, taught by someone with genuine industry experience” and is relishing the opportunity to expand her understanding and practice of her chosen career.
“There’s just nothing that can replace reading a tangible book together with a little kid, whether that’s at home, at school or in the library,” she says.
Acclaimed children’s author and illustrator, Gavin Bishop ONZM, is among this year’s Storylines Hui speakers. A UC Fine Arts graduate, Mr Bishop guest lectures in the Master of Illustration programme and provides feedback on student work.
Renowned illustrator and fellow UC Fine Arts graduate, Robyn Belton, best known for illustrating the Greedy Cat books, also guest lectures for the Master of Illustration.
Ms Belton attended the very first Storylines Hui gathering in 1992, at the home of celebrated children’s author Joy Cowley.
Support from leading practitioners such as Bishop and Belton is essential to give students valuable insight into the industry, and particularly meaningful for a discipline that has not always had a clear place within university study, Ms Tapper says.
“There has traditionally been a gap for illustrators wanting to develop their creative practice at postgraduate level while also building the professional skills and connections they need to make a career from their work.”
“Having our students at the Storylines Hui means they aren’t only learning about the industry from a distance – they are becoming part of that community.”
UC Executive Dean of Arts, Professor Kevin Watson says supporting the students to attend reflects the practical, industry-connected approach behind the programme.
“The Master of Illustration develops technical skills across traditional and digital media while helping students establish their own distinctive visual language and authorial voice,” he says.
With an emphasis on visual storytelling and narrative development, the degree prepares illustrators to work across picture books, publishing, marketing, science, animation and other creative industries.
The programme can be studied on campus or by distance, full-time or part-time, with Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma pathways also available.
