For Illustrators
Draw with us.
Rutab Books is a small family press in London, making picture books in which faith lives quietly inside an ordinary day: a seed in the garden, a bee at the window, a shared plate at breakfast. For now, Nada writes and illustrates every one of them herself.
We have great hopes for where these books will go, and we would rather not go there alone. As our collections grow, we are looking for illustrators to grow alongside us. Some will be seasoned professionals; some will be just starting out, with a sketchbook no one has seen yet. We would like to meet both, and to give real room to talent that has not yet had its chance.
The children reading these books will one day draw their own. We would love some of the first pictures they remember to have been drawn by someone who cared as much as they do.
Who we hope to hear from
You do not need a degree, an agent or a long list of credits. You do need care, and a steady hand.
- A character who stays themselves
- Picture books ask for the same small face, the same coat and the same way of standing, page after page, in rain and at breakfast and from behind. Consistency matters to us more than anything else.
- Any tools you love
- Adobe Illustrator, Procreate, Photoshop, watercolour, gouache, coloured pencil, ink. Digital, by hand, or a little of both. We care about the finished page, not how you reached it.
- Warmth and gentleness
- Our books are for children from birth to seven, and the grown-ups reading beside them. We look for work that feels calm, kind and beautifully observed, with room for a small joke in the corner.
- Any age, any stage
- We welcome applications from illustrators of every age and every background. If you are under 18, we will simply ask that a parent or guardian knows you are writing to us, and we will include them in any conversation that follows.
How to apply
Write to Nada directly. A short, honest letter is all we need.
- Email nada@rutabbooks.com with the subject line Illustrator application and your name.
- Tell us a little about yourself: where you are based, how you like to work, and the tools you use.
- Share your work. A link to a portfolio, website or Instagram is perfect, or attach up to ten images or a single PDF.
- If you can, include one character drawn three times, in three different moments. It tells us more than a whole portfolio.
- If you are under 18, add the name and email address of a parent or guardian.
or email nada@rutabbooks.com
We read every application with care. If your work feels right for a coming collection, Nada will write to you to talk about a short trial piece. We may not be able to reply to every letter individually, but with your permission we will keep your work in mind for future books.
Your work remains entirely yours. Sending it to us gives us no rights to it, and we use what you send only to consider you for our books. You may ask us to delete it at any time.