Latest News

Cudweed In Outer Space is the brand new Early Reader by Marcus Sedgwick, featuring Cudweed Otherhand's inter-planetary encounter with the Thrillons of Zoy.

Out in 2012.

Here's a sneak preview of images from the new series by Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson...

More images and information about the project to follow.

Pete has just begun work on the second Stitch Head adventure for Stripes Publishing - the funny yet moving Stitch Head and the Pirate's Eye.

Here are a couple of sneak previews of the artwork...

Pete has recently completed the illustrations for Mr. P's Naughty Book - a new Orion Early Reader written by Francesca Simon.

Here are a few images from the book...

In the sixth of the Raven Mysteries, all manner of disaster descends on Castle Otherhand; weirdness abounds, the family are on the verge of being thrown out of their own home, and there's still no sign of the fabled treasure of the Otherhand. Worse still, there's no sign of Edgar, either. So will it be diamonds or doom for the Otherhands?

Orion - 6 Oct 2011
 

The eerie and beautifful music that now accompanies the images on the website is Kip Files by Chris Speed, from his 2004 CD Swell Henry.

Chris is the acclaimed saxophonist, clarinetist and composer from Claudia Quintet, The Clarinets, Yeah NO, Pachora and many other great projects. He also runs the Brooklyn avant garde label Skirl.

His website is at:

chrisspeed.com

 

Skirl is at:

skirlrecords.com

 
 

 Pete has just completed the artwork for To Be A Cat by Matt Haig. Matt is the prize-winning author of The Radleys, The Dead Fathers Club, Shadow Forest and The Last Family In England, amongst others.

 

Barney Willow thinks life couldn't get any worse. He's weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him - Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney's existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there's no sign of him ever coming home.

 

Barney just wants to escape. To find another life... Being a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier - right?
 

Barney's about to discover just how wrong he is. Because he's about to wake up as a cat - and not just any cat. Gavin Needle's cat...

 

To Be A Cat will be published by Bodley Head on 2 Feb 2012.

Pete has also illustrated new covers for Matt's two troll adventures, Shadow Forest and The Runaway Troll - see above.

Information and images at Stitch Head's page in the Books section.

Deep beneath the streets of London's Soho, Pete's animation collaboration with Emma Burch - Being Bradford Dillman - is finally in production.

A 12-minute short film telling the story of little Molly Flowers and her strange friend Bradford, it is being animated by Daniella Orsini through Loose Moose Productions. Story and direction are by Pete and Emma, design is by Pete, voices by Natasha Holberton and Morwenna Banks.

 Daniella plans to keep a blog of the whole experience at her website, which is here:

  www.daniella-orsini.blogspot.com

The Blue Peter Book Award 2010 winning team of Pete Williamson and Guy Bass are about to start work on an exciting new series for Stripes Publishing...

Pete is currently illustrating Space Lizards Ate My Brain! - an exciting first novel by Mark Griffiths for Simon and Schuster, featuring the first adventure of Lance Spratley and evil inter-galactic lizard warlord Admiral Skink.

Pete has illustrated a hilarious new Raven Mysteries spin-off by the brilliant Marcus Sedgwick, featuring eldest Otherhand son and monkey-loving nitwit Cudweed...

'Cudweed's birthday is coming up, and, like all small boys, he has big ideas and many lists about the presents he'd really like. Preparations for the party are in full swing at Otherhand Castle and the excitement is mounting. Sadly though for Cudweed, his parents, Lord and Lady Otherhand are definitely not keen on him adding to his collection of pets. Will he be disappointed, or will he get his heart's desire: a small but noisy monkey? And if he does get what he wants, will it be by fair means or foul?'

Out on July 1st 2011 in full colour, with two further adventures to follow, from Orion Books.

Magic and Mayhem - the fifth and penultimate instalment of Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson's series of goofily Gothic goings-on is out now.

'A trip to the circus has far-reaching consequences for the Otherhands when Fellah goes missing. Before long the Castle is plagued by a duck, a suspect fortune teller, and several cartloads of lethal cabbages. The family is preoccupied: Valevine is busy inventing a cabbage-counting machine; Minty is waiting to hear the secrets of the universe; and Solstice has discovered that Cudweed is concealing three hundred and forty-two rabbits in his bedroom. When chaos strikes and thieves infiltrate the Castle, it falls to Edgar to extract his family from a very fluffy predicament.'

Marcus Sedgwick and Pete Williamson were invited to BBC Television Centre to receive their award for the Blue Peter Book Award 2011 'Best Story with Pictures' for the third Raven Mystery, Lunatics and Luck.

Lunatics and Luck was chosen by a panel of four charming and erudite young people who joined Marcus and Pete amidst the Blue Peter cats and dogs to discuss the creation of the book. 

'Solstice and Cudweed are appalled to find their father has appointed a new school master. But things get even worse when the grumpy, viciously mean teacher actually arrives. The Otherhand children are sure there's something more to him than meets the eye - the trouble is, who will believe them? No one it seems. Except, perhaps, Edgar.'

Pete has illustrated a brilliant new Early Reader story by renowned Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon.

'Ava is sick and tired of her parents always telling her what to do. Nag nag nag. Why can't she have the kind of parents that let her eat sweets all day? Or parents who never make her go to bed, or eat vegetables? Then she sees an advert for the Parent Swap Shop, and Ava knows it's time to trade in the old ones for a new and improved Mum and Dad.'

The Parent Swap Shop is out on June 2nd 2011 in full colour! From Orion Books.

Vampires and Volts, the fourth instalment in Marcus Sedgwick’s hugely popular Raven Mysteries series, is now available in bookstores and online.

'It’s Halloween and the Otherhands are throwing a vampire party... with unexpected consequences! Luckily Edgar the raven is there to swoop to the rescue.'
 
Vampires and Volts is available to buy in hardback and Flood and Fang, the first Raven Mystery, is now available in paperback.

  

Dinkin Dings And The Frightening Things recently won the ninth annual Portsmouth Book Award.

Here's a link to a great article explaining how the day went for Guy and the massed Dinkinites at the Kings Theatre in Southsea:

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/agenda/Dinkin-Dings-and-reading-are.6409420.jp

Dinkin Dings and the Frightening Things - Pete Williamson and Guy Bass's first collaboration - won the Blue Peter Book Award for 'Most Fun Story with Pictures' - a brilliant result for this great series of hilarious books (although they have to share the one award between them).

Art and images that haven't got a home just yet... 

Alister & Paine is a high-end NYC-based online magazine for 21st century executives - everything the modern executive needs, from business expertise and Elite Lifestyle features to extensive interviews with inspirational business people.

Pete was recently commissioned to create byline portraits for the Alister & Paine team. Here they are...

See them in situ at:

www.alisterpaine.info

JCP – Pete has created a range of images for JCP’s teaching resource about the three festivals of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
 
http://www.ujia.org/what-we-do/programmes/uk/944/jewish-curriculum-partnership-jcp/

Founded in 1839, Anti-Slavery International is the world's oldest international human rights organisation and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery. It works at local, national and international levels to eliminate all forms of slavery around the world.

Pete has recently created this image for use with ASI’s ‘Stand With Us’ campaign on Child Domestic Workers.

Please go to their website and get involved...

www.antislavery.org

Pete created all the interactive characters for Polywood's groundbreaking online CGI animation school. Further design work is in the pipeline. To see all the characters in action, go to:

www.polywoodstudios.com