Last month Briony May Smith travelled up to Haworth, Yorkshire to the Brontë Parsonage Museum to celebrate their Festival of Women’s Writing.
Illustrator Briony May Smith and author Sara O’Leary were joined by their Publisher Tara Walker from Tundra Books and one of Briony's agents, Amy Kitcherside, to celebrate and talk about their biopic picture book ‘The Little Book of the Little Brontës’.
Briony spent the first day painting a scene from the Little Brontës for the Parsonage shop window.
The next day Briony and Sara led a joint workshop for children talking all about the process behind making a picture book. They then created their own little books, similar to the ones Charlotte Brontë and her siblings used to make when growing up (though with less sewing involved!). With a live draw-along with Briony, self-portraits were soon featured on all the handmade book covers. The day ended with an impromptu book signing for fans.
The next day Briony and Sara led a joint workshop for children talking all about the process behind making a picture book. They then created their own little books, similar to the ones Charlotte Brontë and her siblings used to make when growing up (though with less sewing involved!). With a live draw-along with Briony, self-portraits were soon featured on all the handmade book covers. The day ended with an impromptu book signing for fans.
Several of the little books created by Brontës throughout their lives are on display at the museum and a lot of fun was had spotting scenes from the book throughout the parsonage and town, all of which were faithfully and beautifully captured by Briony in her illustrations. Briony, Sara and Tara also managed to have a walk up to Top Withins, where it was easy to see how the landscape inspired 'Wuthering Heights', through the mist and rain. They warmed up by the fire on their return from the moors. |
The weekend was jam-packed full of talks and events from lots of different writers and artists, so do keep an eye out of the next year’s festival dates and the museum is well worth a visit for any fan of the Brontës. The surrounding area is also full of literary connections, and Amy made part of her journey back down to London via the local steam railway and passing through Oakworth station, made famous by 'The Railway Children.'