Helen Kellock
I was delighted to receive Creative Scotland funding to begin developing the first of a new series of children’s picture books set upon a fictitious Scottish island.
I came up with the idea back in 2018 while spending time near Oban. Walking along the Ganavan Sands, looking over at the Isle of Mull, I began to imagine an undiscovered island hidden off the coast of Scotland. I sketched out what this forgotten Scottish island might look and found myself so drawn to the ‘world’ that I began to develop a host of unusual creatures that might live within.
After creating these preliminary sketches, I felt there was a strong potential for a series of books to emerge from this island world, however, I knew I needed the time and focus to really do the project justice. I, therefore, applied for funding to allow me to go on a research trip to the Isle of Skye so that I could flesh out the setting and characters for the series, and then to fund my time to develop the first story in the series with the help of an experienced children’s book editor.
Without the help of Creative Scotland I would have been struggled to afford the time and resources needed to dig into this project and bring it to life. I hope one day this hidden island world will be found in bookshops!
