Agent: Claire Morance

Eva Lou Phillips is an illustrator, designer, and author based in Atlanta, GA. Growing up with an artist as a mother, Eva spent her childhood constantly jumping between new creative pursuits, making up stories, and building toy robots out of toilet paper tubes and plastic scraps. She discovered her passion for picture books while studying Illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and was chosen as the winner of MICA’s Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition in 2025.

In her practice, Eva often combines traditional media like watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil with digital drawing programs. Her work is marked by vibrant color palettes, rich textures, and a visual style heavily inspired by mid-century modern and Scandinavian design. Her favorite stories impart meaningful lessons with a sense of humor, and highlight unique characters with strong personalities. When Eva isn’t working, you can find her crocheting, embroidering, or doodling weird animals in human clothing.

Agent: Gabry Crivilare

Enni Heikura grew up in Finland, spending most of her childhood on the ice as a competitive figure skater, which sparked her love for movement and the interpretation of emotion. When she wasn’t training, she enjoyed drawing tiny, detailed images, just like today. After graduating in sport science and beginning further studies in psychology, she rediscovered her passion for drawing and has been self-taught ever since. Her goal is to bring stories to life that children find relatable and inspiring, with a touch of humor. Inspired by music and imagination, she enjoys solving creative challenges and developing new ideas through working with pencil and digital color. In her free time, she loves hiking in the mountains as well as running and cross-country skiing in the nearby forest, where many of her ideas are born. 

Agent: Shadra Strickland

Solomon Hughes is an artist/writer from Brooklyn, New York City, who studied Graphic Design and Illustration at the High School of Art and Design and Pratt Institute.
He had been writing and drawing his own comics since he was 8, starting with Looney Tunes characters and then moving onto his own creations. His favorite period of art is 20th century commercial illustration, and if time permitted, he would work exclusively in the tactile world of traditional media. He is intrigued by works that are original and meaningful, and speak from a unique perspective, be it subtle and symbolic, or explicit and hard-hitting. The power of children’s literature is insurmountable, the potential influence and inspiration they can project into a young child’s mind contained within its every page. Eager to learn and grow creatively, he enjoys connecting with others who share a similar passion for art and design. Solomon spends his spare time working on a Graphic Novel about…y’know…stuff.

Agent: Sarah Dillard

Agent: Gabry Crivilare

I’ve been drawn to storytelling through illustration for as long as I can remember. As a child, I spent hours lost in books, captivated by the artwork and eager to create my own. That same imagination still drives my work today—whether it’s the cozy world of my childhood dollhouse or the joy of turning an idea into something tangible.

I specialize in playful, whimsical art full of expressive characters, a touch of magic, and often, animals. Working digitally in Photoshop with my Cintiq, I also love traditional media like watercolor, gouache, ink, and cut paper. Lately, I’ve been exploring 3D set design, fascinated by how light and shadow interact with paper structures—something I hope to bring to my dream project: illustrating a story about a spunky girl navigating her emotions within her dollhouse world.

Beyond illustration, I’ve painted murals, designed hand-painted furniture, and created custom cards. When I’m not in the studio, I love hiking the Rockies, trying new recipes, and spending time with family and friends. This year, I’m focused on writing and illustrating my own manuscript, expanding my website, and inspiring young artists through school visits.

Agent: Claire Morance

Brianna McCarthy is a self-taught artist and children’s book illustrator living in Trinidad and Tobago. A lifelong reader, she spent many as hours as a child in the library and discovering new worlds in her encyclopedia set. Her work is influenced by literature, dreams, the people she meets, and her three older sisters. Brianna loves to make beautiful things that can be enjoyed and to translate a feeling, a thought, an idea or a dream into something more tangible. She enjoys the tactile element of traditional media, and works mostly in ink or gouache/acrylic gouache, as well as paper collage, fabric collage, doll making, mask making and digital art. In her fine art work, she aims to create a new discourse examining issues of beauty, stereotypes, and representation. In her children’s illustrations, Brianna likes to explore the imaginative, fantastical and playful side of her work, and hopes that children will see themselves, their peers or loved ones in her books.