Archive for July 2008

Time for another contest!

I am terribly excited to share with you all my upcoming chapter book, Kenny and the Dragon. Though it is not due in stores until August 5th, I will be giving away three signed (first edition) copies here on the site…each, with a very special drawing in them.

All you have to do is design your very own dragon!

Like Grahame, the dragon who dubs himself a “Renaissance guy” in my book, I want you to come up with a drake of your own, who has its own personality. Here is what I am looking for:

1. A full color image of your dragon (any medium), along with his/her/its name.
2. A quick (4-5 lines) description of his/her/its personality. What does it like to eat? Does it play an instrument? Is it moody? Enjoy long walks in the park? Etc…

…you tell me what makes your dragon so darn special.

I will be judging on originality, creativity, and pure imagination. It doesn’t matter if you are a good drawer or not. It doesn’t matter if you are a two-year old kid, or an eighty two-year old kid…all entries will be accepted.

And those entries have to be in front of my bespectacled eyes by July 31, 2008.

You can send ‘em to me at:

Tony DiTerlizzi
“Design Your Dragon” Contest
P.O. Box #442
Amherst, MA 01004

Or email’em to Angela at: angela@diterlizzi.com
*Please title your email “Design Your Dragon”.

Winners will be chosen by myself, my loverly wife Angela, and my trusty assistant Will. We will announce the winners here on the site August 1, 2008, and I will then award winners with a signed copy of Kenny and the Dragon, along with a drawing in the book of Grahame (my dragon) shaking claws and congratulating YOUR DRAGON!

…sound cool? Then get drawin’ – and good luck!

I hope everyone here in the states had a great Fourth of July yesterday. I was so busy eating hot dogs and playing with sparklers, that I forgot about posting our runner ups for the DVD Drawin’ Contest, so here they are!

As with our winners, the judges (myself, Ang and my assistant Will) looked for creativity and technical skill. Some of these pieces came close to placing, but we tried to keep the ages varied for our final winners. Below, we picked some of our favorites that I just wanted to share with you all:

Thomas’ piece would have likely placed, but we received it after submissions were closed. At only thirteen(!) years old, this fella shows A LOT of promise.

Five year-old Lily, sent us several pieces, but this simple, yet iconic, drawing of a unicorn melted our hearts.

Sandrine, an illustrator from France, rendered this variation of Allister the leprechaun from Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide.

Speaking of France, Stéphane sent us this awesome sketch of Mulgarath sitting on his tower steps from book 5.

Eleven year-old Gabe sent us this funny sketch of Hogsqueal and Byron (also from book 5). The look on Hoggy’s face is almost as funny as Jared (or is it Simon?) watching from the window.

Exploring the digital medium, Ellie sent us this cool colored version of Byron the griffin.

Summoning the spirit of Arthur Rackham, Aaron sent us a couple great images, but we loved this one of Thimbletack best.

In fact, the little brownie was quite a popular model for many. Check out Andrew’s interpretation.

Studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Venice, Leonardo found the time to do a couple of lavish renditions of his favorite creatures. Because the phooka is one of my favorite critters, I chose this one personally.

Last, but certainly not least, is nine year-old Allie’s colored drawing of Mal fighting off a goblin. Of course, she gets extra points for hand-lettering it.

Thank you all again for participating! I will be sending you all a signed postcard as well as a set of my custom “DiTerlizzi Studio” stickers…so make sure Angela has your mailing address.

And to those who did not place, please don’t fret: I will post the details of the “Design a Dragon” contest next week!

Yay! I’ve got confirmation on my late August tour dates for Kenny and the Dragon. I’ll be traveling through the southern US with stops in Tennessee, Mississippi, New Orleans and Georgia.

Sunday, August 24
2:00 PM
BARNES & NOBLE
2774 N. Germantown Parkway
Memphis, TN 38133

Monday, August 25
4:00 PM
DAVIS-KIDD BOOKSELLERS
387 Perkins Rd. Extended
Memphis, TN 38117

Tuesday, August 26
5:00 PM
SQUARE BOOKS
160 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655

Wednesday, August 27
3:00PM
LEMURIA BOOKS
202 Banner Hall
4465 I55 North
Jackson, MS 39206

Thursday, August 28
4:30PM
OCTAVIA BOOKS
503 Octavia St
New Orleans, LA 70115

August 29-31
DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL
Decatur, Georgia

Sunday, August 31
2:00 PM
BARNES & NOBLE
7660 North Point Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30022

My second leg this October will include: San Diego, Los Angeles, San Fran, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver.

All details (including links) and dates will be added to the ABOUT section of the site. So check back often, and I hope to see you there!