Sarah Hannah Walsh on the creative journey that has resulted in the publication of her picture book, Aggie Witchfinder . . .
I was working from home when I got the email from The O’Brien Press, telling me they wanted to work with me on my first picture book. It took me a few beats to register what I was reading, followed by a rush of excitement. I honestly couldn’t believe it. Writing and illustrating children’s books had always been a dream of mine, but it never felt like it could be a reality. I was the girl in school who found reading exhausting and difficult. I was always counting ahead to the paragraph I would be called upon to read, memorising it, so I wouldn’t make any mistakes.
While I loved stories, reading and writing were nerve-wrecking activities for me, but where I felt most at home was when I could experiment with different materials in the art room, making demented home movies with my brother and cousins, drawing non-stop, taking over the entire floor of my bedroom with loose sheets of paper, pots of dirty paint water and pencil shavings. In all of these, I knew story was what I loved – but I was a visual kid and the idea of combining visual storytelling with the written word never occurred to me.
Imagery and Storytelling
I decided to study animation in college – it seemed like the best way to combine my love of imagery and storytelling. I graduated from IADT in 2014 and began working in the design department on various TV shows and films. I loved working in animation, but I found it difficult separating the creative energy needed for my job from the energy I needed for my own work, so I started experimenting and focusing on smaller personal projects. I made a short comic ‘In August and September’, inspired by my lifelong fear of house spiders (and their ominous presence in the house I was sharing at the time).
Soon after finishing that, I was encouraged to enter the Irish Independent Graphic Short Story Awards. I really wasn’t expecting anything to come of it and was genuinely surprised when I found out it had been shortlisted. I can’t overstate how that felt, it started to light a new creative spark.
Illustrations and Animations
During lockdown, I began working on a series of illustrations and animations based around how I was feeling at that time. There was ‘Puca’, an animated gif showing two ghostlike sheets blowing in the wind on a clothesline outside a rickety old house and ‘Self-Portrait’, another animated gif describing how it felt to be pulled in different directions of creativity during such a turbulent period.
I think it was that lockdown urge to break out and connect with others that made me decide to enter both pieces into the World Illustration Awards. This was a competition I had been following for years and never did I think I would get selected, let alone be shortlisted, so when I got the email I really couldn’t believe it. To be recognised by artists I had been admiring for years was and still is so surreal to me.
The Picture Book World
Around this time, I decided to take a greater leap, edging closer and closer into the picture book world. Then 2024 happened. I lost my Dad after a very short illness. He was someone who was always a constant source of support and encouragement. That year felt like walking through quicksand, trying to keep your head above the surface. Emotionally and creatively, I was completely burnt out. I needed something to focus on. I started drawing silly illustrations, with no plan but just allowing myself to wander.
Then a character with a big round face, wide hair and a cheeky grin appeared. She basically jumped off the page, shouting, “hello, I’ve got a story to tell!.” But during that initial tidal wave of grief I couldn’t recognise her. I put her to the back of my mind but every time I saw this mischievous, playful character, I knew I had to tell her story and so, eventually, I gave in.
Aggie Witchfinder
I began to realise that this character, Aggie Witchfinder, was on an adventure with her Dad. The Daddy Witchfinder design came very quickly to me: like my Dad, he is a kind and practical man, a bit of a worrier for his children but also their biggest champion. Soon after writing a first draft and sketching a couple of scenes, I saw The O’Brien Press had their Pitch Perfect event for Culture Night. Before, I would not have dreamed about entering, but I decided to take the leap. Within weeks, I was reading their email, saying they wanted to publish Aggie and Daddy Witchfinder’s story.
To be given the opportunity to work in children’s books, an area I’ve always loved, and to work on a book that is a tribute to my Dad, is something I will always be thankful for. The book tells a story about a father and daughter who go out on a magical adventure in search of a witch, and like Aggie and Daddy Witchfinder, I’m starting out on my own new adventure and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
(c) Sarah Hannah Walsh
About Aggie Witchfinder by Sarah Hannah Walsh:
Aggie and her family come from a long line of Witchfinders. Aggie can’t WAIT to be old enough to go out to the forest to look for witches with Daddy. When the day comes at last she’s so excited … she’s going to be the best Witchfinder ever!
Order your copy of Aggie Witchfinder online here.
And read more Meet the Authors of Children’s and Young Adult Books on Writing.ie here.
