Skip to content
University of East London
  • Staff login
  • Student login
  • Study

    Study

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Undergraduate study

    View all of our undergraduate subjects.

    Explore now
    • COURSES
      • Undergraduate
      • Postgraduate
      • Getting back into education
      • Subjects
      • May starts
      • Apprenticeships
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Student life
      • Current students
      • New students
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
  • International

    International

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Virtual Open Events

    Need support during your admission journey?

    Attend our virtual events
    • APPLYING
      • Advice for your region
      • Pre-degree courses
      • Immigration advice and compliance
      • Transferring to UEL
      • International admission deadlines
      • Pre-sessional English
      • Malvern House pathway programmes
    • STUDENT INFORMATION
      • Accommodation
      • Term dates
      • Fees and funding
      • Scholarships
    • VISIT UEL
      • Open days and events
      • Our location
      • Virtual open events
  • Your career

    Your career

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • STARTING YOUR CAREER
      • Career Zone
      • Explore your career
      • Career coaching and mentoring
    • GETTING A JOB
      • Meet employers
      • Be your own boss
      • Volunteering
      • Work while you study
  • Partners

    Partners

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Are you an employer?

    Advertise a vacancy on our platform today.

    Get started
    • Partnerships at UEL
    • Train your workforce
    • Share your skills
    • Connect with our people
  • Our research

    Our research

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    REF 2021

    Read about our Research Excellence Framework submissions and results

    Impact case studies
    • Postgraduate research students
    • Research impact
    • Partnerships
    • REF 2021
  • About

    About

    Site Navigation - Quick Links

    • Why UEL?
    • Undergraduate prospectus
    • Postgraduate prospectus
    • Sport at UEL

    Connected campus

    We are improving our three campuses for people to study, work and live.

    What we're doing
    • OUR UNIVERSITY
      • Our schools and subjects
      • Staff
      • Governance
      • Professional services
      • Vision 2028
      • Alumni
      • Accreditations
      • Sustainable Development Goals
    • TEACHING AND SUPPORT
      • How we teach
      • Mental wealth
      • On-campus nursery
    • GET INVOLVED
      • Events
      • News
    • GET IN TOUCH
      • Our location
      • Contact us
  • Home
  • About UEL

UEL graduate sees her firefly story light up book shops

Hero Carousel

amabel_barlow

Illustrator embarks on freelance career

See all of our News articles

Published

30 June 2021

Share

Share On Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn

Lucy, the sad firefly with a special talent, was a spark of an idea in the mind of University of East London graduate Amabel Barlow. Now, after Amabel turned her character into a children's story, Lucy lights up book shops around the world.

Amabel's story Lucy Lights The Way is living up to its title, setting Amabel on course for a career as a children's book illustrator, author and artist.

She said she was "over the moon" seeing her 34-page picture book published and appearing in Waterstones and Foyles shops in this country and distributed and marketed around the world, in countries such as Germany, Australia and China.

Lucy is a sad firefly who does not think she has a special talent. It is by helping her friends she discovers what her special talent is. We all have special talents. We often realise what our talents are through people who care for us. It encourages children to think positively about themselves and to support others."

On Amazon, the book has received a string of five-star reviews, with reader Barbara Hunte saying, "Such an engaging children story. The illustrations are adorable, and the story of Lucy is well written with a lovely ending,"

Annabel Barlow,  UEL graduate and author/illustrator, said.

Amabel, who lives in south London, continued, "I have always wanted to have a career in children's book illustration and Lucy Lights The Way was a story I wrote knowing that it has an important message for children about recognising their individual special talents."

Amabel, who graduated in 2020, is currently working on two more books as well as finding her way as a freelance in the creative industries, building her portfolio and receiving commissions for her paintings.

She said, "I love to paint, and I am now a member of the Blackheath Arts Society. I will continue to prepare for future exhibitions and commissioned work."

She chose her course at the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering in order to understand the variety of disciplines in illustration, including as editorial illustration and printing, and telling stories with images, all while working with industry-leading software such as the Adobe Creative Cloud.

"Throughout my illustration course at UEL, I was able to research and study how to become a successful children's book illustrator and my work was critiqued and encouraged by my lecturers and students.

"There was a great deal of effort preparing me for a future career in illustration, encouraging me to develop my style of working, my website, my professional portfolio, and how to work in a professional team."

And she advised students to her lesson of the past year as she launched a career against the headwinds of a pandemic.

She said, "If you are creative and determined keep going. It is a difficult time as we come out of the pandemic but use that creativity and you never know what might happen."

If you are interested in an illustration degree, see our course website. Lucy Lights The Way is available from Foyles and Waterstones bookshops and on Amazon.

Share

Share On Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on LinkedIn

Communications team

Contact us for press and interview requests

 

+44 (0)20 8223 2911
pressoffice@uel.ac.uk

Help us make this site better by telling us what you think about this page

Social Media

Follow us on social media:

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube Instagram TikTok

University of East London

University Way

London, E16 2RD

United Kingdom



T. +44 20 8223 3000


Explore UEL

  • About UEL
  • Take a virtual tour
  • Calendars
  • Freedom of information
  • Governance management
  • Services and departments
  • Find us
  • Contact us

The University

  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs

University of East London

University Way

London, E16 2RD

United Kingdom



T. +44 20 8223 3000


Copyright ©2023 University of East London

  • Accessibility
  • Data protection
  • Sitemap
  • AccessAble
  • Modern slavery
  • Legal and compliance
  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy