WELCOME!
Known for her warm characters and interactive invention, Bridget Marzo is the award-winning artist-author of well over 20 picture books. (You can find more of her previous books, along with more illustrations and interviews in her Bridget Strevens Marzo archive site)
Bridget believes in the power of pens, pencils, paints – and picture books – to open our minds at any age.
She works between France and the UK for publishers in different countries. Even when we don’t speak the same language, what matters is what we all share in common. That is what she learnt as a child thanks to her English, French and Catalan family. That, and how we all grow together, is also what Bridget’s latest book is about. It is called YOU, ME and OUR WHOLE WIDE WORLD. Here is the cover.
Bridget’s latest book is out with Walker Books UK
The hardback is out now with the wonderful publishers Walker Books and the paperback is due in early Spring 2023.
Bridget loves giving creative story making and colour and character making workshops for schools, libraries, and festivals across the world, including at the Beijing BookWorm festival, where she got nearly 1000 children and teachers all drawing characters together for their own stories.
Right now in 2022 Bridget is busy painting the illustrations for Mo’s Best Friend, a Stone Age Story. It is one of several stories she has been working for a while, that are set in a world before anyone wrote stories down. Publication takes time so you’ll have to wait until late 2023 to see the cover of that book.
Bridget was proud to be one of 45 illustrators led by Axel Scheffler contributing visions of Europe in the book DRAWING EUROPE TOGETHER (Macmillan November 2018), and in an exhibition that toured around the UK and Ireland including at the Royal West of England Academy .
Europe in a Tree ©Bridget Marzo, gouache on tinted paper in Drawing Europe Together, Forty-five Illustrators, One Europe published by Macmillan November 2018
Here’s a peek at part of Bridget’s work in Pictures at Play grand juried exhibition of the best of children’s book illustration in SCBWI British Isles 2019 at the Westminster Reference Library behind London’s National Gallery
November 23, 2019 Joined Axel Scheffler and the rest of a fab crew at South Ken Kids Festival illustrators from both sides of the Channel in this year’s drawing to music Impro!
November 1- 3rd, 2019 SCBWI British Isles Conference, Winchester First Impressions Panel
Tiz & Ott’s Big Draw goes to China!
Here’s the Chinese co-edition of Tiz and Ott’s Big Draw published by Citic Press, Beijing .
On it is a beautiful gold stamp with the words ‘Artistic Enlightenment Picture Book for Children’.
Above is the Chinese character for HOME, the last line of the story.
A BIG EVENT!
Here’s Bridget in action with Tiz and Ott and a crowd of children and families in Tate Britain. Look at the lovely art works the children made – in less than an hour – in the great London art gallery!
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I adapted 4 well known fairy stories in my latest French books Les Contes à Colorier (my “Draw Along Tales“) so that children use their pencils and crayons to help the characters along their way – as well as colour them in. Published by Bayard Jeunesse.
The bookstore display case for my 4 Contes a Colorier out with Bayard, France
Meanwhile, the high-energy scribbler Tiz the cat, and slow and steady Ott the donkey who paints, have been keeping Bridget busy since Tiz and Ott’s Big Draw was published with the Tate UK and distributed by Abrams in the US.
Here’s Tiz being useful – as a 3-D pencil holder! Big thanks to the fab designer Evavooo who loved my book character and created Tiz in 3-D! If you have access to a 3-D printer you can download the 3D template and make and paint a Tiz of your very own – for free!
2018
So many friends for Tiz and Ott to play with! Here is a roomful of characters drawn by 5 year olds at one of Bridget’s South Ken Kids Festival school visits
GROUP EXHIBITION, the SCBWI BIENNIAL 2017
A juried exhibition of children’s author-illustrators including guests Leigh Hodgkinson, Tim Hopgood and Pam Smy, in PICTURES AT PLAY, the very first grand biennial illustration exhibition by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, British Isles, at the Half Moon Gallery, London.
2016
The South Ken Kids Festival 2016 started with a tribute by Quentin Blake to his French connections in art and music. Bridget drew live on stage with the great artist-author Serge Bloch
In a 30 minute illustration plenary at CWISL’s ShoutWest Festival, Bridget showed children ages 9 – 12 how to relate characters to each other – with the simplest of means.
NEW YORK BOOK TOUR
Bridget reading at Bank Street Bookstore (photo ©Tim Miller)
Bridget signing at Greenlight Bookstore Brooklyn
Bethlem Museum of the Mind, London
A family painting workshop inspired by a fascinating book on show in their current exhibition Youtopia, called the Little Traveller.
Here’s a short film of what we did at Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4R
What a fantastic gallery from Tiz & Ott’s Big Draw today @Tate Britain pic.twitter.com/AHfQBK8ioH
The South London Gallery First ever Children’s Bookfairfrom 12:45 – 1:15
South Kensington Kids Festivalat the French Institute, London
drawing to Jazz at the South Ken Kids Festival -artists l-r – Emily Hughes, Delphine Perret, Claude Ponti, Bruno Heitz, Barroux, Benji Davies, Marjolaine Leray, Bridget Marzo, Beatrice Alemagna, Axel Scheffler..and jazz trumpetist Airelle Besson and guitarist.
Pop Up Education Peterborough
The Isle of Wight Literary Festival
The Guardian Education Centre’s Cartoon & Art Family Day at Kings Place, London
Dédicace de Bridget’s Book of English a la Librairie de Bulles et des Lignes, Pernes-Les Fontaines, France
ShoutSouth Festival at the London Southbank university. Check out my blog post about getting over 100 adults and children drawing stories out of characters at Shoutsouth.
China Bookworm Festival. talks and workshops for children and adults in Beijing and Suzhou.
The World of Kids Lit with Frané Lessac and Anette Øster.
Masterclasses for the SCBWI at the House of Illustration, London