The Lady Cutler Award is an annual award for services to children's literature in New South Wales, given by the NSW Branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia. This year's winner was Donna Rawlins, a beloved author, illustrator, designer, editor and teacher. Donna has directly influenced — for the good — too many author and illustrators and editors to begin to count. The dinner in celebration of her win, held in Sydney on Tuesday 25th November, was a joyous tribute to Donna's work, and the affection and esteem in which she is held. As many people commented on the night — why wasn't Donna recognised in this award ten years ago?

Below is reproduced the citation given in support of Donna's award by publisher Mark McLeod. Mark and Myra Lee, long-time coordinator of Scholastic Australia's Book Club, nominated Donna for this award. In addition to Mark's speech, author Libby Gleeson and publishers Margaret Hamilton and Sarah Foster took the microphone to add their comments about their professional and personal regard for Donna. Sarah's son Alfie also spoke, saying that Donna might be his sister's Godmother, "but she's like a grandmother to me!"

Congratulations Donna. You're a wonderful illustrator, a gifted writer, and extraordinary editor and designer, a compassionate teacher — but most of all, a fantastic friend.

Photographs from Donna's award dinner can be seen here.

No one knows more than Donna Rawlins does about the many aspects of making a book for young readers, and no one has shared her knowledge and experiences more generously. Donna has been a writer, publisher, graphic designer and book designer, darkroom operator, printer, packager, and lecturer in the field of books for young people of all ages, as well as, of course, being one of Australia’s most distinctive and best loved illustrators.

Donna Rawlins is unique – although the internet tries to fool us with listings for other Donnas: "Donna Rawlins, voiceover artist and singer" and a whitewater star: "Donna’s thrills and chills. Not for the Weak of Heart – Enter at Your Own Risk. Links to my Thrills. See me Raft!"

Trying to summarise Donna’s career is like trying to capture light. It’s almost impossible. (Donna was born in Sunshine!) You can’t tie it down to neat categories or even dates. As soon as you try to, it jumps up and resists any attempt to impose limits on it.

Donna began her career somewhere between photography, printing and publishing, then worked for Thomas Nelson as an illustrator and designer. But already, Donna was sharing her knowledge of book production with students and from 1983 to 1984 she lectured in Graphic Design at Chisholm Institute. Then in 1984 she set up her own freelance business as an illustrator, designer and packager.

Although she had been publishing education texts for some time, the success of her trade picture books The Kinder Hat and Tucking Mummy In (both written by Morag Loh) led to Scholastic appointing her to edit her own list for them. Anyone looking back on Donna’s time at Scholastic will be amazed at what she achieved.
And although she invented the term "sizeist" to describe those who would say so, her admirers have often wondered how so much energy could come in such a small package!

She commissioned new writers and illustrators, edited, acted as art director and designer, continued to speak in schools and at literary festivals, and somehow found time to win the CBC’s Book of the Year for Younger Readers with her brilliantly innovative illustrations for My Place, by Nadia Wheatley. This book became an instant classic and won the YABBA award and the Eve Pownall Award in 1988. And in 1990, it was honoured by IBBY.

1988 also saw the publication of the first picture book that Donna had both written and illustrated: the unforgettable Digging to China.

Books that followed include Jeremy’s Tail (with Duncan Ball), My Dearest Dinosaur (with Margaret Wild) and Ten Little-Known Facts About Hippopotamuses (with Douglas Little and David Francis). The books Donna has published for others or written and illustrated herself, are distinguished by their high energy, their sense of humour, their respect for simplicity, for the everyday and for difference, and their passionate commitment. Donna is never afraid to take risks.

With Wayne Harris, perhaps the most special one of the many artists she has nurtured, Donna collaborated on setting up a design studio, Monkeyfish, that has gone on to win a series of awards for outstanding and innovative book design. ABC Books launched its new children’s imprint in 1996 with David Francis as publisher. The impressive list of names appearing on ABC books with production values that have been praised around the world was largely due to Donna’s connections and the design standards she and Wayne have set at Monkeyfish.
She also established with Wayne a highly popular and successful course in children’s book illustration at Sydney University, and graduates of that course, such as Emma Quay, have had their illustrations critically acclaimed in books published around the world.

A tireless supporter of the CBC, Donna continues to devote time to fundraising and to speaking in schools and still manages to fit in her own illustration work, with recent titles that include Robber Girl and Babs the Baby and Fog the Dog (with Margaret Wild) and Guess the Baby (with Simon French).

Donna once boasted that she had the best address book in children’s publishing, but it has always been open to anyone who needed help. She is one of Australia’s great networkers. Colleagues in the book trade who are also her business competitors have benefited from her generosity, just as students or fellow writers and illustrators have.

But no statement of Donna’s wonderful talents and contributions would be complete without including her unique rapport with children. Children simply love her: whether because life has made her just the right height ("sizeist" again!), because she tells great jokes, or because she wears clothes with a happy and energetic flair (especially her tights, which they always remember!) - children love the way that Donna always treats them as equals. As in every other aspect of her work, Donna Rawlins lives what she believes. She doesn’t simply write and talk about children: in a very real sense she is a big kid herself and fortunately has no plans to grow up!

It therefore gives us great pleasure to congratulate Donna Rawlins as the 2003 winner of the Lady Cutler Award.

Previous winners of the Lady Cutler award can be seen here.

Photographs from Donna's award dinner can be seen here.