Illustrating The Wor(l)d
As part of the World Illustration Awards 2023 Exhibition at the University of Plymouth, writers from across the UNESCO City of Literature network had the opportunity to respond to a selected image from the exhibition through original fiction or creative non-fiction writing.
Writers involved in this project come from Exeter, Jakarta, Nottingham and Melbourne Cities of Literature.
About Illustrating The Wor(l)d
In the creative industries, the normal practice is that a writer produces an article or story and then an illustrator is commissioned to illustrate the text.
We wanted to reverse that practice and offer the illustration Sleeping With My Allergy by Weston Wei to writers from several UNESCO Cities of Literature to explore how they would respond to a particular visual catalyst.
After a callout amongst the Cities of Literature Network, we selected 10 writers from across Exeter, Jakarta, Nottingham and Melbourne and compiled their responses spanning short stories, poetry and creative non-fiction.
The Arts Institute at the University of Plymouth created a booklet of the commissioned writing that you can pick up from the exhibition at the University of Plymouth. A digital version is also available below.
About The Writers
P.J. Reed
P.J. Reed is an award-winning, multi-genre author, poet and playwright with books ranging from high fantasy to haiku. Her writing is eclectic and never dull. She is an author, historian and archaeologist by trade. P.J. lives in Devon, England with her two daughters & Rupert, the ginger rescue dog and is normal found tapping away on her computer in a darkened corner of a coffee shop.
M Q Taqarrabie
Taqarrabie (Bie) is an aspiring filmmaker, author, and storyteller who is passionate about spreading Indonesian stories and her own original stories in Bahasa Indonesia, Miangkabu, and English.
Clare Helen Welsh
Clare Helen Welsh is a former primary school teacher, turned children’s writer. Her work is inspired by nature, her work as a mental health champion and a love of language. Clare lives in Devon with her husband, two children and a dog called Hope.
Shoba Dewey Chugani
Shoba Dewey Chugani is a children’s book writer - Janggan Dragon Kite - a finalist for the Scholastic Picture Book Awards was published in 2018. Arai and the Tall Grass was listed under the UN SDF Book Club in Singapore. It was also used as enrichment during the MoE’s study-from-home program. In her capacity as an early childhood specialist she wrote several books on education. Her short stories have also been published in Jakarta Post.
Mike Ludgrove
Until recently I built wooden sailing craft and sailed across oceans. Sometimes serene, occasionally stormy. Out there, I found a landscape infinite in possibility, constantly changing. Where stars provide the only fixed landmarks. Often a vast blank canvas onto which the imagination paints pictures, tells stories, beautiful and otherwise. Even on moonless nights the heavens blaze with starlight, mirrored on the surface of the sea below.
I draw on those experiences, attempting to wrap them in words, hoping to reflect the magic of life, this planet. What a swim we are in.
Beau Windon
Beau Windon is a neurodivergent writer of Wiraidjuri descent based in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). He writes quirky stories about quirky people and all of the dark goo slathered over his brain. In 2023, Beau was one of the winners of Griffith Review’s Emerging Voices prize. You can find out more at www.beauwindon.com
Rizal Iwan
Rizal Iwan is a writer living in Jakarta. His short stories were published in national media such as The Jakarta Post, and several anthology books. His newest work is an award-nominated children’s book series entitled Creepy Case Club. Rizal is also active in theatre. In addition to being an actor, he wrote a play that became one of the winners in the Jakarta Arts Council’s Playwriting Competition in 2022.
Shin Alex
Shin Alex lives in Jakarta. She loves not only outdoor activities like hiking and climbing, but also music and reading. Inspired by her favourite readings, she started writing stories she loved.
Orlando Murrin
Orlando Murrin is a writer based in Exeter with a background in magazine journalism and food writing. He has written six cookbooks and most recently his debut novel, Knife Skills For Beginners, a murder mystery set in a London cookery school.
Elle Jacobson
Elle Jacobson is the Chair of Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature’s Youth Advisory Board. She graduated with a degree in Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University in 2023 and has previously been published in Seaglass Lit, The Nottingham Horror Collective and Firefly Archives.
About The Exhibition
World Illustration Awards 2023
Friday 8th March - Friday 19th April 2024
The Arts Institute at Plymouth University presents the World Illustration Awards 2023 exhibition, in partnership with the Association of Illustrators (AOI), and the Directory of Illustration.
From book covers to newspapers, packaging to murals, illustration is the visual language of everyday life. This exhibition celebrates this most engaging of art forms in its broadest sense.