news

Building Worlds With Our NEW SHOWCASE PORTFOLIO!

It’s that exciting time of year again, the moment we get to reveal our new showcase brochure featuring some of the amazing new work our illustrators have been busily beavering away on. This season we have focused on world- building and character creation, mirroring some of the recent successes some of our brands have had on the small screen.

Troll and the Oliver are back with a show stopper challenge!

It’s been 5 whole years since jolly little Oliver first evaded the big blue troll, in Adam Stower’s Troll and the Oliver published by Templar, and now they are back with a brand new look cover!

In a slapstick game of cat and mouse, clever Oliver deftly manages to avoid certain death at the hands of a trolls digestive system. Troll is set on a Oliver shaped morsel and he won’t stop until he gets one, has Oliver’s luck run out?

Unlocking Imaginations with King Coo Events

Learning to write is one of the most important things that a child at primary school will learn. Children use their writing in almost all other subjects of the curriculum and good writing also gives children a voice to share their ideas with the world. This week we’ve been out and about with King Coo creator Adam Stower road testing a brand new King Coo event.

King Coo in The Phoenix Comic

To celebrate the publication of King Coo in paperback Adam has teamed up with the gang at The Phoenix Comic for a month of mayhem, each weekly issue for a month will include a double page “Coo-traption” extravaganza solving a variety of seemingly unsolvable problems

Arena February Calendar by Adam Stower

February is here and we celebrate with this dashing fellow, Piggy Handsome illustrated by the equally dashing Adam Stower

Piggy Hero the sequel: Adam Stower

Pip Jones has returned with her Guinea Pig hero Piggy Handsome and his sidekick Budgie, Jeff. ‘Piggy Hero’, illustrated by Adam Stower published by Faber and Faber

Piggy Handsome by Pip Jones and Adam Stower

Piggy Handsome – ‘a guinea pig destined to be sat on’ is a new series for young readers who enjoy a good laugh. Beautifully illustrated with soft charismatic drawings by Adam Stower which perfectly catches the charm of this little creature and his best buddie Jeff a little blue budgie.

Arena May Calendar by Adam Stower

Arena Calendar image for May is by Adam Stower, taken from his first novel for children, King Coo, published by David Fickling Books this week

King Coo by Adam Stower

Adam Stower’s first novel for children, King Coo published by David Fickling Books.
“If Peter Pan had been a girl… with a beard… then she’d have probably been called King Coo”

Adam Stower: Animals Behaving Badly

Adam Stower’s lively illustrations just leap off the pages of this fabulous new book, “Animals Behaving Badly” by Nicola Davies, published by Walker Books

Adam Stower: The Thornthwaite Betrayal

Adam Stower has created another fabulous cover illustration for Gareth P. Jones’ ‘The Thornthwaite Betrayal’, published by Piccadilly Press

October Calendar, Death or Ice Cream?

Arena’s October calendar is Adam Stower’s striking book cover for Gareth P. Jones published by Hot Key Books.

Odd Aquaticum- Just Published

Check out Adam Stower’s marvellous illustrations for Alistair Grim’s Odd Aquaticum by Gregory Funaro, published by Alma Books, out this month!

Famous Schoolboy Just William reinterpreted by 3 Arena Artists

Chris Garbutt, along with two other Arena artists, have been asked by Pan Macmillan to redesign the covers of classic Just William stories by Richmal Crompton.

Adam Stower featured in Illustrators Magazine

Adam Stower gives a marvellous interview in Illustrators Magazine, a quarterly magazine featuring some of the best names in the illustration world.

Outta This World: 3 Space Stories You’ll Love

To continue on our intergalactic adventure, our next stop is the wonderful world of Space Stories

Maps Maps Maps! Part Four- All About Black and White

For the last installment in our Map series, we’re ending with good old traditional black and white maps, mostly from the insides of fantastical books.

Just Published- Death Or Ice Cream, Illustrated by Adam Stower

Adam Stower has produced our latest published book cover, Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P. Jones, published by Hot Key Books.