Edinburgh student wins contest for new educational publishing project

Anna Chalcraft, a design student at Edinburgh College of Art, has been announced as the winner of a competition to illustrate the first book for newly launched publisher, LOVE Publications.

Anna (23), who is originally from the Canary Islands, will be illustrating the first book for the publisher, which will be named ‘My Brother is Different’.

‘My Brother is Different’ is part of a series of books that specialise in giving information and support to younger children living with difficult issues. This first publication approaches autism and it is aimed for children between 4 and 8 years old.

LOVE Publications is the most recent initiative of LOVE, a leading Scottish social business that funds its charitable arm through staff training and recruitment services.

LOVE’s publishing arm will issue educational and resource materials for children, young people, parents and teaching staff. This will be in the form of books, e-books and podcast formats. These will specialise in educational, training, social care and support themes, with a specific emphasis on those requiring additional support for learning.

All profits acquired through the purchases of LOVE Publications’ material will be used to support charitable arm LOVE learning, which specialises in providing education, employability, social care, and physical health programmes to vulnerable children and young people.

Anna said: “I am really delighted to have won this competition for such a worthy cause, helping children and young people to gain a greater understanding of conditions such as autism.

“It was rather unexpected and I cannot wait to see my illustrations in print.”

Lynn Bell, CEO of LOVE said: “We are thrilled for a talented artist like Anna to be part of LOVE’s new exciting programme.

“We like to support young, local and independent artists like Anna, who are enthusiastic about our mission and want to join us in the journey to improve the lives of vulnerable children and young people.”

Debbie Irving, Manager of LOVE Publications, added: “We strongly believe that Anna’s work will perfectly illustrate the messages ‘My Brother is Different’ wants to convey, and that it will enhance the content of our first book.

“Having met and witnessed Anna’s talent, I foresee more potential work collaborations in the future.”