Northam author Katie Stewart releases fourth book

The Northam-based author and illustrator is set to release her latest children's book in 2023, which will make four book releases in as many years.

And there are still many more stories bubbling away that she hopes to add to the Fremantle Press-published series in the years to come.

It's an impressive feat for someone who long held a desire to have her love of artwork, animals and stories translated onto paper but didn't take the leap of faith until approaching her 60s.

Ms Stewart was born in the north of England and at the age of nine her family was sponsored by the Anglican Church to come to Australia as "10 pound Poms", where they settled in Perth's eastern suburbs.

This is also the time when Ms Stewart knew that one day she wanted to be an illustrator.

The changes in her life were not only limited to moving countries - a family tragedy soon after arriving in WA meant they left the city and moved around to different country towns over the ensuing years.

After completing her schooling, she applied for and was accepted into an arts degree at The University of WA, following which she became a teacher and headed back out into the country.

It was in Katanning that she met husband Peter, where she was teaching and he was working for the Department of Agriculture.

But a farming life beckoned, with the couple heading back to his family farm at Irishtown, 13 kilometres north of Northam, just a week after they were married.

Life got busy, and combined with tending to their three children, Ms Stewart lost the motivation to pursue her illustrating ambitions.

That was until her youngest child started kindergarten and she took a job in a school library.

One day she read 'The Element - how finding your passion changes everything' by Ken Robinson - and from then things did change.

"It was about finding happiness doing what you want to do, and after reading it I knew that I had to follow my dream of becoming an illustrator," Ms Stewart said.

So, getting close to her 60s and after having worked in the library for about seven years she retired, and spent the next three or four years building a body of work of her pictures, while also attending events held by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators to make as many contacts as possible.

Despite having written and self-published some novels in her 50s, it was in 2019 that Ms Stewart got her big break, with local publishing house Fremantle Press loving her drawing style and offering to publish what would become her first children's book, What Colour is the Sea.

It hit the shelves in early 2020, just a week before Australia went into lockdown as a result of COVID-19.

The beautifully illustrated tale of a koala trying to discover what colour the sea actually is, was based on a story that Ms Stewart had written many years ago while working as a teacher.

It was shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year in 2020 and 2021, which was an extra feather in her cap in addition to the thrill of having the story published.

When creating her imagery, Ms Stewart has taught herself to draw digital pictures on a tablet or drawing board - and the results are stunning, with a beautiful textural look to the pages.

"I had a lady tell me that she had bought What Colour is the Sea because her six-month-old baby kept reaching out for it on the shelf, and when they read it she just wants to touch the pages," she said.

While the stories, suitable for children aged up to six, are based on tales that "pop into her head", it is the images that tend to come to her first, and then she writes the text based on those.

Where Do the Stars Go?, about a possum wondering where the stars go in the morning, was published in 2021 and was shortlisted for a WA Premier's Book Award in 2022, while Wombat Can't Sing, released earlier this year, was based on a story Ms Stewart wrote about 30 years ago but with the main character originally a turtle.

When I Can Fly, the story of a little Boobook owl wanting to visit the city, will be available in September next year.

Ms Stewart said a Facebook memory popped up the other day from 2013 and it was of her first digital artwork, which she said had progressed markedly since then.

"I'm not sure how I did it, but originally I was using a mouse on the computer to draw," she said.

"I soon moved on to using a tablet or drawing board as I started getting serious about my illustrating, and I am really glad I discovered them because they are actually so much easier than drawing on paper.

"I am a real perfectionist, and using the tablet allows me to easily remove a layer if I'm not happy with it."

Ms Stewart has recently invested in a new drawing board as she looks to continue to ride the momentum of her dream path.

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"It is quite exciting, I have had three published now, one each year and another next year," she said.

"I'm catching up on all the years of not doing it."

While keen to make up for lost time, Ms Stewart is certainly not short of ideas, inspired by being constantly surrounded by animals on the farm, as well as being able to walk in the quiet of the outdoors and think.

"I love animals, and I love to draw them," she said.

"I always thought I'd write funny stories, but it turns out they are more educational, which is still wonderful."