Literary Beards is a free, public art exhibition at the Guille-Allès Library.
Thanks to the generous support of Art for Guernsey, a curated exhibition of these original Chris Riddell illustrations was on display in the Hayward Room from 16-26 March 2018. If you weren't able to make it during those dates, we are pleased to present a digital version below.
Chris Riddell
Chris Riddell is one of the UK’s leading illustrators and cartoonists.
Over a thirty-year career he’s illustrated more than 100 children’s books, including Paul Stewart’s The Edge Chronicles, Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle, and his own much-loved series Ottoline and Goth Girl. His books and illustrations have won numerous awards, and in 2016 he became the first person to win the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for a third time.
From 2015-17 Chris served as the UK’s Children’s Laureate, during which time he campaigned tirelessly in support of libraries, his lifelong passion. On a visit to the Guernsey Literary Festival in May 2017, in the final weeks of his laureateship, we welcomed him to our own library for a live event where he spoke about his books, answered questions from young fans, and wowed us all with some live drawing.
Impressed by the story of Library founders Thomas Guille and Frederick Allès, and still more impressed by their magnificent beards, on returning home he drew these fabulous illustrations for us, in a show of support for the Children’s Library Project.