from the true story of Dionne, Wat, and H’Non.”
And while Jeet is waiting for the words to the next instalment (likely to centre on marine ecology) he has been doing some research in advance. He says: “I have made a few trips to some of the sea and marine conservation areas in Vietnam, to practice drawing the ocean and hope that there will be useful experiences. I have met and talked to a lot of extremely interesting people during these trips and I’m very excited to write and draw a book about them in the future.
“We’ve also spoken a lot about ghost nets floating in the ocean, so I would really want to make a book about these silent death traps this year.”
Jeet’s strong connection to the natural world comes through in his work and he says he is pleased that his art can help to raise awareness. He says: “The simplest way is through the emotions of the characters and their thoughts and feelings when witnessing the changes in their environment. Our characters are closely linked to the environment where they live, and every change affects them.” Away from Jeet’s association with Trang, he reveals: “I have just finished illustrating a new picture book for children with poetry by Bui Phuong
Tam, which has the English title of My Daddy is a Runner. I have never painted pictures with such strong contrasting styles and colours. The book has been published in Vietnam and hopefully will be available in other countries soon.” As mentioned at the start of this article, Jeet’s work for Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear earned him the Yoto Carnegie Medal for illustration. Chair of judges Janet Noble described the book and Jeet’s artwork as “a beautiful story, elegantly told, which brings together a global view of conservation and an empowering true story of an inspiring female environmentalist, told through dazzling manga art and watercolours. Jeet has crafted every illustration to immerse the reader”.
Jeet says he was immensely proud to have his work recognised by the awards, saying: “I felt very honoured. Trang Nguyen and I hope that Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear will help to have a positive impact on wildlife and nature conservation. For me, creating these books is like planting trees; waiting for them to sprout, take root, grow, and praying that one day they will flower and multiply into a large, sustainable forest. I know this won’t be a quick journey. This award means a lot to me, and I hope that
the book and its cherished values will be widespread and long lasting.” Jeet adds he is already feeling the effects from winning the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration, saying: “I do not know what impact it will have longer term for me professionally, but shorter term already, some publishers have contacted me and are interested in working together, so this is very good news following the award. I will continue to be creative and do what I love and I hope I will keep a happy upbeat way about myself when writing and drawing for as long as possible.” PEN&INC
l Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear (Kingfisher) written by Trang Nguyen, illustrated by Jeet Zdung is the winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2023.
Autumn-Winter 2023
PEN&INC. 11
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