Picture Me is a brand new book festival happening in Wellington and Christchurch between 11–28 September. Here’s the inside scoop on the international headliners and what they’ll be doing while in Aotearoa.

A good picture book has a timeless quality: a story you don’t mind reading over, and over and over again. We’ve had our fair share of bangers: Margaret Mahy gave us The Lion in the Meadow, The Great White Man-Eating Shark, The Witch in the Cherry Tree, and The Boy with Two Shadows, among others; Joy Cowley’s Greedy Cat is a classic, as is The House that Jack Built by Gavin Bishop, and The Kuia and the Spider by Patricia Grace.

Despite the dominance of the picture book (children’s books make up over fifty per cent of the market here) we haven’t yet had a dedicated festival to celebrate and interrogate the art of the form. Until now. Rachel Lawson from New Zealand-made, internationally acclaimed children’s book publishers Gecko Press is the mastermind behind the new Picture Me Festival, which is hosting international guests and running events including window painting, masterclasses for professional illustrators, and workshops in schools and libraries. We talked to Lawson to get the story behind the festival.

Why did you decide to create Picture Me?

I love to listen to authors and illustrators talk about what they do and how they do it. We only occasionally get the opportunity to hear children’s book creators talk about their craft in that “book festival” way. At Gecko Press we’ve talked for years about a children’s book festival that could mix events for children with that wider discussion. And we have always worked hard to get children’s books into public spaces, have them visible and visibly fun. Julia’s Curiously Good Book Club initiative a few years ago was all about that.

Gecko Press authors have come to New Zealand twice before. Some people might remember when Leo Timmers, Aleksandra and Daniel Mizielinski, and Ulf Stark came to Wellington Writers Week in 2014, and in 2019 we brought over two French author/illustrators — Clotilde Perrin and Éric Veillé. Both of these were so much fun. I still have conversations with people in the children’s book community about how inspiring it was to meet these author/illustrators and the way they talked about their work.

I think illustrators from Europe in particular get more opportunity for what they do to be public in this way — the illustrators coming for Picture Me have all had exhibitions of their work, most have professional training, they’re very experienced with workshops with children, and they bring with them the professional environment where creating children’s picture books is considered serious, important. I find it really inspiring to engage with that — and I’m trusting that other people will too!

The festival is in Wellington and Christchurch — why those two cities? 

Partly to keep it manageable! This event is a collaboration with Wellington’s European community — the Goethe-Institut, the French Embassy, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, the Alliance Francaise. We knew we could bring all of our energy to the events here. And the Christchurch link is primarily through Tūranga library, because they have such a strong network and were super enthusiastic. If this is a success, we’d love to go wider next time.

You’re bringing in international guests, can you tell us a bit about them? 

Antje Damm is a German children’s writer and illustrator. She began her career as an architect and has written and illustrated over 30 books for children. Many of her picture books are created with physical models that she colours and photographs — one of these is The Visitor, created out of a cardboard box and model figures, with colour and light entering the story literally. This was selected as one of ten New York Times / New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books — that’s a huge honour, with only 10 books chosen out of everything published in the US each year. Antje has also written a series of books that explore questions with children—philosophical questions and funny questions. She has said: “I’m interested in philosophizing with children, the thoughts and adventures that take place in their heads. That’s one of the most important reasons for me to make the books.”

Aurore Petit is a French illustrator who trained at the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg. She also writes and illustrates for a range of ages, from the very young to picture books. Her books with Gecko Press are A Mother Is a House and My Baby Sister Is a Diplodocus — ultra contemporary picture books about family and our place in our families. They’re a beautiful combination of graphic, contemporary art with very warm and domestic emotion.

Piotr Socha is a non-fiction author and illustrator from Poland. People will recognise his big illustrated books A Book of Bees and A Book of Trees, and he has a new book about dirt. He is one of Poland’s most popular cartoonists. I like what he says about non-fiction: “Books have already been made on every subject but a good illustrator can re-tell a story that has been known for centuries.” Readers of his The Book of Trees will immediately see a New Zealand Lord of the Rings connection with his Ent-like trees.

There are events for adults as well as kids: what can adults expect to get out of the festival?

I have always loved listening to European children’s book people talk about their writing and illustration, their process, their careers. They come through this wonderful culture of taking children’s books seriously — many of them have trained in illustration, they work in environments where there is so much opportunity and they have the time and context to really think about their craft. They talk so wisely and interestingly about children’s literature. 

This aspect of the festival is really important to me personally. Antje Damm has said “illustration is often seen as the ‘little sister’ of fine arts” and there is still something of the attitude in New Zealand that illustrations are secondary to the words. Or that children’s books are less interesting or important than other kinds of writing or art. I would love to see both of those ideas banished!

What is the highlight of the festival for you? 

I’m excited about our Art Day at the National Library — inspired by their really successful Comic Fest this year, we hope to draw on some of that enthusiasm for a morning all about the art of picture book illustration. 

I’m also really happy that we have five events aimed at adults, where people can see behind the scenes of children’s picture book making and enjoy the deep thought and craft that goes into this. I think it’s a profession many people don’t have on the radar. We’re giving a free workshop to tertiary students of illustration at Massey and VUW, and holding a masterclass for picture book illustrators. 

And the window painting! The illustrators will pain the window of Te Auaha Gallery in Dixon Street while they are here. They three have such different styles but will be working on this collaborative project together — I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

How is the market for picture books today? 

I think most publishers will tell you things are pretty tough at the moment. When it costs nearly $10 to buy a pound of butter, the book can take second place! It’s tough for publishers as well as readers — the costs of creating books are massively higher than even five years ago but we’re still selling a picture book for $20. But I think publishers are supposed to be positive in public places so I will remind us all that good books are still getting made and getting out—being seen and bought and read.

Gecko has long been a leading publisher of picture books: what makes Gecko so unique? 

When Julia started the company, publishing books in translation was uncommon, so these books really stood out — the sensibility and look was unusual alongside conventional “English” (UK / US) publishing. Since then the diversity of books being published worldwide has grown hugely. We try to focus really clearly on what makes a Gecko Press book — the quality of the writing, the centrality of the child’s point of view, warmth, a good story (not just beautiful illustrations). One of the criteria I still look for is in the tagline “curiously good”, and I will always try to stay true to that — have we seen a book like this before or is it somehow different? 

What makes a great picture book? What are the qualities you’re looking for?

A great picture book never gets stale — mostly we are looking for a book that can be read over and over. A joke that stays funny, a story that grows with the telling, illustrations that hold more in them than the words or the first reading. Humour goes a long way, and for me, really good writing with every word deserving its place.

Is this festival something you’d recommend to aspiring children’s writers? 

Absolutely! The visitors all speak so interestingly about children’s literature generally. But also, our three illustrators are all writers too, and they cover a range of ages — Antje Damm writes for up to 7 or 8 years and Piotr Socha’s non-fiction books are for all ages.

What’s your favourite picture book? 

I can’t do favourites! I have favourites for different moments in life but too many to even think of. Today my favourites are the new books I’m choosing for our 2026 releases, because they are at that moment of peak enthusiasm!

The Picture Me Festival is a partnership between Gecko Press, the Goethe-Institut, the French Embassy and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, and the primary sponsor is the Franco German Fund. All festival events and guest details are at Gecko Press.