Monique Steele's book Zac & Jac longlisted for two awards!
We're beyond elated to announce that Monique Steele has been longlisted for two separate awards for her illustrations for the middle grade novel Zac and Jac!
Zac and Jac is longlisted for the Little Rebels Award 2025 as well as the Children's Literature Festivals Book Awards 2025 and we couldn't be prouder.
Representation in the media and issues concerning racial equality and human rights are of utmost importance to Monique. Zac and Jac tackles social topics like racism, and we believe the recognition of her work in these award longlists will help the book to spread awareness and showcase the importance of facing issues of racism.
Zac and Jac is written by Cathy Jenkins and published by Graffeg. It centres on nine-year-old old Jack who idolises his father and takes an important look at intergenerational racism. Monique's drawings bring out the intensity on each page as Jack begins to realise that his dad has been living with deep-rooted racist ideas.
Scroll through the pictures to see Monique's creative process coming alive from sketch to final art.
The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award is a prize for radical fiction aimed at children aged 0–12. The award is given by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers and was established in conjunction with Letterbox Library. The award is now administered by Letterbox Library and Housmans Bookshop.
The Children's Literature Festivals (CLF) Book Awards is a competition that aims to introduce primary-aged children to authors and illustrators of children's books. The competition involves a judging process by children and a teachers' award, with winners receiving a glass book award and a chance for the winning author to visit a participating school or library.
Congratulations to Monique once again!
If you'd like to see more work by Monique, please contact [email protected].
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