University of Texas BFA grad Marsha Ritiworked at her first creative love, ceramics before she saw an opportunity to make some extra money with her studio art craft — illustrating books for children.
Her technique of patching together and occasionally manipulating her watercolor illustrations in Photoshophas served her well.
Her blog that she fills with her images and interviews with her illustrator and artists friends caught the attention of an agent, which led to a contract to illustrate a series of chapter books for the Little Simon imprint of Simon & Schuster.
In the slideshow below you can see Marsha garbed as her witch-in-training heroine at last month’s book launch party.
She’s joined by friends from her Austin SCBWI illustrators’ critique group, the Girlustrators who came out to support, babes and broomsticks in tow.
Marsha Riti signs at BookPeople, surrounded by her Girlustrator pals.
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InteractBook contest winners announced
Our judging team has named the winners for the create your own iPad
book app contest by InteractBooks.
The first place winner in the contest for creating an interactive book using the InteractBuilder software received an iPad2 and a publishing contract.
Other contestants received prizes, too.
First Place – It’s Time for Carrots by Dan Byrne
Second Place – Put the Ow in Meow by Adreienne Jervis
Third Place – The Magic of Lizzie Boo by Leslie Dennis
Coming in fourth and neck in neck with third place – CAE Club gets Ready for a Great and Scary Halloween by Ann Kesselman.
Congratulations to all contenders!
Stand by for some videos about the entries, an interview with the winner and news about the next InteractBooks contest.
Children’s book illustrators increasingly are usingPhotoshop to bring their images into the “final art” stage.
Photoshop files are the raw materials for building interactive digital books for the iPad and smart phones. In a previous post Ezra Weinstein, publisher of InteractBooks discussed the need for Photoshop layers from illustrators.
Here in the above video abstract artist Steve Connor discusses uses ofPhotoshop and different ways to learn the program that is fairly oceanic in applications and features and, Steve suggests, becoming a part of everyday work and life.
Yes, the cameramen should be fed more tranquilizers — or go out and get a tripod for his Kodak Zi8 camera. (We’re working on the problem.)
Meanwhile Steve, who teaches art and multimedia at ITT Technical Institute and other campuses in Austin does great in the interview. Trained in the fine arts at Syracuse University and Pratt Institute, he worked as a designer and an art director for advertising agencies, corporate marketing departments and in his own creative services agency in the San Francisco Bay area. He teaches a wide range of design, media-editing and publishing programs including InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, 3ds Max and Premiere. He also provides online training and consulting. You can read about him and the beautiful compositions (lyrical abstractions) that he creates on his website and blog.
Steve has put up a short and easy survey, Learning Digital Media to determine what you would most like to learn from an online Photoshop class series— and he’d appreciate any of your responses on it.
Roughly 15 minutes long, it shows how to work with layers, the brush tool, shapes and effects. This will help you get started — no matter what edition of Photoshop you have.
Actually, Steve says that even if you don’t answer the easy questions on the survey, you’re still welcome to see his video. You’re asked to register with your name and e-mail addressto see the lesson. But otherwise it’s free. Watch the lesson.
Speaking of tech trainings, Erik Kuntz of Austin gave a fantastic presentation to our Marks and Splashes students last week.
He showed us different ways to build picture galleries on our WordPress and WordPress.com blogs. He covered lots more in his offhand conversation and answers to our questions during the session.
A web comics creator, writer, illustrator and website developer for small and large businesses, Erik has long championed WordPress as a most plausible web platform for artists and other creative people.
So there’s a survey up for him, too, because he’s considering putting together a series of trainings, WordPress for Artists. Tell him what you’d like to see in informal trainings for WordPress and his other software specialties,Corel Painter, Adobe Illustrator and Manga Studio for cartoonists, graphic novel artists and children’s book illustrators. Take Erik’s WordPress survey.
Austin SCBWI Conference Photos
Books, Boots and Buckskin, the 2011 regional conference of the Austin Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators was a happy success, thanks to the many chapter volunteers, extraordinary presenters and faculty and the wonderful historical campus with its intimate theater auditorium and state of the art presentation rooms.
The conference was hosted by St. Edwards University, which provided the gorgeous setting and wonderful support staffand InteractBooks.com — an Austin, Texas-based publisher of interactive children’s picture book apps and a developer of software building tools for iPad and mobile phone book and rich media content apps.
Caldecott Medal winning illustrator David Diaz illustrates a scene from a manuscript by one of the conference attendees. He’s illustrating on the back of a door bought from Home Depot.
He’s joined by Austin SCBWI assistant regional adviser Carmen Oliver and illustrator Clint Young.
Children’s book illustrators would do well to make note of the pathfinders as the tectonic plates of publishing, communication and commerce are shifting under our feet — as we speak.
Content providers are rushing to the market, knowing that this day and age are like the Oklahoma Land Rush. In a matter of months, the virtual “land grab” will be over — the first round of it anyway. The dust will have settled and the publishing landscape will be changed. Those trade books with a foothold in the new media will have an edge.
One of these pathfinders is Washington D.C. author, publisher and patent holder Margie Blumberg,who is making her children’s books available as not only hardcovers but as iTune downloads for iPhones and iPads. Her two picture books, Breezy Bunnies and Sunny Bunnies, featuring the art of English illustrator June Goulding.
She blogs about grammar and has an e-book available for all ages on the subject, and she’s exploring other formats as well for all her books.
Margie Blumberg, Publisher
Margie knew she wanted to write at an early age. But like many writers, she took a detour on the way to her dream (in her case, law school and legal internships at the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Science in the Public Interest).
Undeterred in her heart’s goal, she self-published what she describes as an “autobiographical recipe calendar.” It featured delightful comic strip illustrations by illustrator John Thompson chronicling the trauma Margie says she faced as a young adult when her doctors ruled out chocolate for her for the rest of her life!
So she was already thinking outside the box, or “the book,” embedding her personal yarn and favorite dessert recipes (sans chocolate) in a desktop calendar!
With co-author Colleen Aagesen, Margie went on to write Shakespeare for Kids: His Life and Times– a biography with 21 activities for kids for the Chicago Review Press’s For Kids series.
But the frosting on the cake (not chocolate, we hope) in preparing her for life as a contender in the new publishing/media was the award of a patent in 2008 for an electronic memory pad. She tells us more about that in the interview.
Margie graciously answered our questions about her books, her apps and collaborating with U.K. illustrator June Goulding on her first digital project. Breezy Bunnies, a book for the i-Pad, and Sunny Bunnies, a hardcover trade book are both available through iTunes as downloads and apps for iPhones. Two other books in the series are in the works.
So let’s meet our New Publishing pathfinder.
Hi Margie! You’ve created a publishing company at a time when the industry isgoing through a remarkable transition and you’re also reaching out to a broad market range “From illustrated books for preschoolers to nonfictionbooks for adults” as you state. Why did you set up this challenge foryourself and what do you see as the challenges and opportunities in a marketplace that seems about to redefine itself?
Margie: Our goal is to create books of distinction that satisfy the universal need to connect to the world through art and words.
I founded MB Publishing, LLC, a few months before the publication of Avram’sGift in May 2003. Technology then was not what it is today. Now, with theadvent of Kindle, iPad, etc., the industry is redefining itself. Assumingbooks made of paper survive [as I write this, my order from Amazon.com hasjust arrived], I hope the elimination of book returns will be part of thisdefining moment. In terms of our economy, I think apps could not have comealong at a better time. For the price of one hardcover book, a family candownload about five to eight picture book apps. That’s great for families ona budget (that’s most of us in America) and it’s wonderful for publishers,too.
Spread from "Breezy Bunnies: illustrated by June Goulding
Do you see your market as trade, mass market or educationor all three and more? How are you engaging these markets?
I am a trade publisher. One of my biggest challenges is to get the word out about my company’sbooks—whether in paper or app form. That’s every publisher’s challenge, actually. That’s why there are so many social media experts, SEO experts, and PR experts. Blogs like yours are wonderful also for discussing issues,of course, and to bring attention to work and ideas that might otherwise behidden from view.
I have engaged Susan Raab of Raab Associates to get the word out about my company and the books that I produce. She has done a marvelous job in reaching out to the media. I have also engaged an SEO expert to help people find my site, which includes information about each book, look-inside features, and downloadable coloring pages. I’d love to hear from Web site mavens and readers alike as to what else my site couldoffer to make it more engaging and worthwhile.
How can yourillustrator help you in this process?
June Goulding has a blog (http://junegoulding.blogspot.com/) with which shekeeps in contact with fellow illustrators worldwide. They are a veryfriendly and supportive online community, and June is able to share newsabout her work whenever she wants. In general, I think illustrators can helppublishers by doing book signings, reaching out to children at local schoolsand libraries to show their work and inspire future artists and writers, andkeeping in touch around the world through their blogs and via groups on LinkedIn or SCBWI, for example.
Sunny Bunnies, a conventional picture book by Margie Blumberg, illustrated by June Goulding
How did you find June and can you describe the process ofworking with her on both the traditional and i-Pad books?
After searching through hundreds of portfolios online and scouringchildren’s book departments, I found June’s portfolio on a site thatfeatured 100 other illustrators. I fell in love with her style immediately and e-mailed her about my interest in working with her on my “bunny books”project. Naturally, she asked for details (and she was thrilled because bunnies are her favorite to draw) and after a few back-and-forths, we talked. You should know that she is a modern-day Beatrix Potter, taking inhurt or stray animals, such as hens and birds and hedgehogs, andbottle-feeding them back to health. In her compassionate and capable hands,Carrot Cake Park is a beautiful and reassuring place for children.
June and I have a nice routine. As soon as I have “finalized” the text, Ie-mail it to her to live with for a week or so. Then she plots out the book in thumbnail form. When I receive her thumbnails, I call her at home in Bristol, England, to listen to how she envisions the illustrations in the layout, page by page and spread by spread. It never ceases to amaze me howtwo people—once perfect strangers, separated by an ocean and a language(British English is often quite different from American English, we havelearned)—are able to see so completely eye to eye, book after book. By theway, this same simpatico feeling happened when Laurie and I worked togetheron Avram’s Gift.
It’s during this thumbnails phase that we can spot big problems—perhaps wehave too many full-bleed double-page spreads in a row, for example. If wecan move around verses, or turn some spreads into spot illustrations, we dothat. It is now that the rhythm and pace of the story and important page turns are set before we move on.
Next come the pencils. Any problems in the text—if they haven’t been caughtalready—are glaring now. I go off to my little corner and try to figure outa better verse or a better segue or perhaps a better word. I’ll often askJune for ideas, as she’s living with the text as much as I am by this point.I like brainstorming this way, and June doesn’t seem to mind (I think).[June Goulding: “I don’t mind. I like to bounce ideas around.”] Often itcomes down to just a few different words, but sometimes I’ll have to createa whole new verse. If it’s a problem with the illustration, on the otherhand—for example, which direction the hayride is going in (this was an issuein our fall 2011 *Busy Bunnies*), we talk it out. June has asked me to drawout my solutions, but it’s usually much better when June draws out thumbnailsketches of possibilities based upon our conversations. The obvious solutionusually presents itself this way—and June doesn’t have to be subjected to mydreadful sketches.
The thing about the word *problem *is that I actually *like *to work out theseissues. It doesn’t always feel like work because I’m enjoying the process so much. I rememberhow I loved my favorite books growing up; if any of our bunny books become a child’s favorite or part of a happy remembrance of childhood, then,well, I’ll be thrilled.
Breezy Bunnies, written by Margie Blumberg and illustrated by June Goulding
Once pencils are done, June decides upon a palette. She sends meillustrations of the two main characters, each wearing the outfits we talkedabout but in several different color combinations. I must sound like abroken record by now, but we inevitably pick the same two color combinationsfor “the kids.” Once the palette is set, June begins to paint. She useswatercolors, ink, and colored pencils. June’s art is a gift, and every timeshe e-mails me new finished illustrations, I feel as though I’m beingshowered with presents.
By the way, if we ever discover a problem in the illustration after the arthas been scanned, June fixes it in Photoshop.
How do you, as a publisher and author, foresee illustrators working on these new digital children’s books that will soon be zipping at near-light-speeds into the consumer market ?
Because of the way PicPocket creates the apps, I don’t see too manydifferences yet. Illustrators will always be focused on creativity. Whetherthey work with watercolor, oil, pencils, pen and ink, or digital software,creativity will always be the key.
The one area that needs extra attention right now concerns the sound aspectof the app. Now that parents and children can touch something on the screen—a duck, for instance—and a sound is heard, artists and writers willbe thinking more and more about new opportunities for adding sound elementsto the app. Lynette Maatke, the co-founder of PicPocket Books in SilverSpring, Maryland, has a wonderful ear for sounds. After we go through the book, discussing which sounds will be important and fun, shegoes to work locating the MP3 sounds.
Other book app developers and illustrators are doing more with animation.And I’ve seen others creating apps utilizing different cameraangles—close-ups, wide shots, etc—and orchestrations. How fun! A book appcan be as close to the real book-reading experience as possible or it can belike a cartoon or it can be something in between.
But no matter how sophisticated the software or the end product, it all comes down to the story and the illustrations: Whether static or animated, if the words andthe art work beautifully together, well, that’s everything really.
Double spread page illustrated by June Goulding for Margie Blumberg's "Sunny Bunnies"
How is conceiving, writing, illustrating, then publishing an electronicchildren’s book for a mobile digital device different from those same tasksin the creation and publication of a traditional illustrated children’sbook?
At this point, I’m not creating books specifically for a digital device. The new scanning technology allows each reader to manually move across the pageat his or her own pace, so creating an app with pages instead of spreads isnot something that I feel we have to limit ourselves to. I suppose I’m luckythat I got into apps at just the right time for these bunny books, whichhave lots of spreads.
Sunny Bunnies came out in hardcover first. Then it became an app,after Breezy Bunnies. Breezy Bunnies which isn’t in print yet, was designed in theexact same way as Sunny Bunnies. My plan is that once all four books areout as apps, we’ll bring them out in a boxed set of four small hardcoverbooks. Of course, by that time, technology may have evolved to the pointwhere children’s books can be carried around in a flexible device thatallows readers to interact with the story in a landscape format. Once thetechnology for children’s books can mimic the hardcover’s or paperback’slook and feel, then I think we will be in a new era. Apple should create awashable device called iPictureBook—or perhaps something fun like iPB&J (PB& J = Peanut Butter and Jelly), the idea being that even kids with stickyfingers can enjoy their books.
Right now, PicPocket Books, the publisher to whom I’m licensing the bunnybooks, simply needs jpegs of the art (including cover and endpapers) and thetitle and copyright pages; my text is sent separately in a Word document.Therefore, June, Andrew Smith (my graphic designer), and I don’t have toworry about choosing a charming but readable font anymore. For my part, thepublisher asked me to find the narrator for the books. I held taped phoneauditions with young actresses through Imagination Stage in Bethesda,Maryland. Once Lynette and I decided on the perfect narrator, we allgathered at the studio to record the first two books. I was able to helpwith readings of lines and we all got to see how a recordingstudio works. The engineer was fantastic. He noticed everything and waspatient with us as we redid lines wherever necessary.
You mentioned that your graphic designer was Andrew Smith. What happens to the role of designer in such books? Do they now become multi-media designers?
I work with graphic designers on my hardcover and softcover books. And myfull-color e-book on grammar, too, required a cover designer and an interiordesigner. As for the apps of the picture books, our full-bleed art makes adesign for the frames unnecessary. However, a designer is a must for thecovers and the title page. I work with Andrew Smith at PageWave Graphics onthe bunny books.
Avram's Gift by Margie Blumberg, illustrated by Laurie McGaw
Whenever the conversion does change the layout—on Kindle, for example—youneed to work with a converter—or learn how to do it by yourself. I hiredJoshua Tallent to convert my chapter book, Avram’s Gift, into a book for Kindle.
What is the royalty or fee arrangement for illustrators who work on MB titles? Or if that is too specific a question, what is the compensationmodel for illustrators of e-books and multi-media children’s products generally?
This is an area that is in flux right now and is being discussed by publishers, authors, and illustrators. I’ve heard of percentages ranging from 24% to 50% (for authors and illustrators to split 50-50). There’s much debate and terms are being redefined, but for my company, with regard to the picture books, as I am also the author, I give a 50% royalty to June for her illustrations.
In your FAQS about illustrator submissions, it sounds like you would bereceptive to illustrators who work in traditional mediums, such aswatercolor?
Absolutely. I love the use of traditional media. If I owned an art gallery,I would fill it with children’s book art and animation cels. So instead, Ibuy books.
How do you work with Emma Walton Hamilton as your editor in theproduction of your books? What is that like?
In a word, it’s a joy. I initially contacted Emma via e-mail, and wecommunicated by e-mail throughout the editorial process. We have sincespoken on the phone and we did meet for lunch when she was in town(Washington, DC), but the bulk of our work together has been conductedelectronically. Some may think that this sounds cold or distant, but youdon’t know Emma. Her warmth and integrity—and her enthusiasm for books—shinethrough every word of her thorough critiques and her editorial work. Here-mails sparkle with encouragement. When we finally got to meet in person,she was even more fabulous than I had imagined!
Art by U.K. illustrator June Goulding for Margie Blumberg's "Sunny Bunnies"
You are now one of the pioneers in this world of electronic children’sbooks. What made you decide to bravely charge into this world of new publishing technology on your own instead of waiting for capital intensive giants like the major trade publishers, like Random House or even the newly formed Ruckus Media Group to develop the technologies, strategies and markets for this new book and interesting them in your traditional books?
I know it’s the dream of most writers to simply write and not be botheredwith the details of printing books or developing apps or working withartists and designers. But my inclination is to write, work with artists, andproduce. It’s a lot of work—but fun, too!—to be responsible for the wholebook. When I bake, I don’t want to make just the batter—I want to bake thecake and ice it, too. I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had inworking with my graphic designers and with June Goulding and Laurie McGaw.And I had a really great time researching photos and art for my grammarbook, as well. As for the apps, I know I could have waited, but waiting isnot my strong suit. And the experience of being involved in the first waveof this new technology is not to be missed.
Also, in July, PicPocket Books was chosen as a Huggies MomInspired™ GrantAward recipient by Kimberley Clark Corporation. They will be using thesupport that comes with the grant to implement additional features to theplatform, increase marketing efforts, and add new titles. The award includesindividual consulting with one of the nation’s top PR firms for help withbranding and marketing. So while PicPocket may not be a giant, it’scertainly on its way!
And now for the technology part of our interview, Margie: How did you come to invent a memory pad and get a patent on it? Doesthis tie into the production of electronic books?
“Necessity is the mother of invention.” It’s so true. I was trying toremember how often a medical event was happening each night, and when Icouldn’t recall the number in the mornings, I decided to invent somethingthat would help me (and others) record events. I shared the ideawith a nurse who works in a retirement community, and she told me that thememory pad would certainly make her patients’ lives easier—and hers as well.The patent process was long (about 4 years), and now that it’s done, I’vebegun talking with app developers to create a memory pad app. At the timethat I thought of this invention, apps were not yet in our vocabulary.
The app for the memory pad is not related to the e-books. Much as I wish Icould, I can’t turn to PicPocket Books and ask them to develop this app.
From "Sunny Bunnies" by Margie Blumberg, illustrated by June Goulding
What new projects are you working on with MB Publishing? What other kinds of books and “thinking outside the book” projects would you be interested in publishing?
I have recently signed a contract with a new writer to publish hermiddle-grade novel. June is working on the pencils for Busy Bunnies (forfall 2011), and then we will finish the 4-book seasonal section of ourCarrot Cake Park series the following year with Snowy Bunnies. At somepoint, we’d love to send the bunnies on adventures abroad. In addition, Laurie McGaw and I are just in the talking stages but we are seriouslyconsidering writing a play about our friendship of 10 years and counting.Although we’ve met only once (for 90 minutes on my birthday in Philadelphiaover dinner)—she lives in Canada and I live in Maryland—we’ve become thebest of friends, talking sometimes every day (e-mail is not lively enoughfor us). We’ve helped each other celebrate in happy times and cry through afew horribly painful and sad times. Ours is a friendship that also thrivesbecause we can discuss breakfast, art, men and kids and always find thefunny as well as the poignant. I hope we can do the play. Also, there is acookbook on MB Publishing’s horizon. I won’t be the author, but I willdefinitely be one of the tasters.
I would love to work with June and a software designer/developer to create agame based on the sights, sounds, and characters in Carrot Cake Park. I’malso interested in mysteries and reference books, and I would enjoypublishing more chapter books.
It is fair to say, then, as I said in the introduction, that you’ve been drawn to publishing since your teens, or at least since your 20s when you did your desktop calendar Is There Life After Chocolate? with cartoons and recipes?
Yes, it is. By my teens, I knew I wanted to write books when I grew up. Andin my twenties, when I had to give up chocolate, I had one of those light-bulb moments: I had just stopped eating chocolate when I wondered tomyself, “Is there life after chocolate?” I was obviously feeling very sorryfor myself (at the time, I worked in an office where chocolate-covereddonuts were always available). Immediately, I thought that that questionwould make a cute title for a recipe calendar. I got to work writing thecartoons and eventually started working with a cartoonist (John Thompson)who brought it all to life. I’m now gathering the cartoons to make themavailable on Zazzle.com. I think they will look great on mugs and mouse pads and other such essentials of life!
Thank you Margie for a wonderful interview! Read more about Margie and her publishing company, MB Publishing.
"Moon Bear" by Brenda Z. Guiberson and illustrated by Ed Young, published by Henry Holt and Co.
Moon Bear
Any new children’s picture book with illustrations by Caldecott Medal winning collage artist Ed Young is an occasion, and Moon Bear, written by Brenda Z. Guiberson is no exception.
Moon Bear tells of a ursine breed that hides in the mountains and valleys of southern China and Vietnam. This picture book beautifully produced by Henry Holt and Co. features some of the best page spreads ever created by Young. With poetic language and riddle-like questions, Guiberson delivers interesting nonfiction account of a female Moon Bear’s daily travels and travails, most of them involving her hunt for the next meal.
This endangered species of Asian black bear is distinguished by a white marking on the chest. Every bear appears to be wearing a white bandanna kerchief — or a bib in a fancy Italian restaurant.
Moon Bears eat bamboo shoots, ants and berries, in lieu of the spaghetti and meat sauce they would undoubtedly also eat if they could find it in the forest. They build their nests in trees. And they seem to possess a special genius for staying out of sight. They’re as elusive as the Abominable Snowmen. And yet they’re captured in considerable numbers in Southern China and kept in confining cages. The book tells us this much in an epilogue — without going into more explanation.
Young’s page designs bring us up close to our subject bear so that we have a real sense of her movement, her presence and spirit. Made of scraps of colored paper, magazine photos and found objects (such as bamboo leaves), the imagery is kinetic, fresh and bright with contrast.
Guiberson’s language and Young’s pictures fuse nicely to introduce us to a mysterious animal.
Read our 2008 interview with Ed Young. He talks about how he lost all of his original collage illustrations for the picture book Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein — just before turning them in, and what it felt like to start over with them, with a short deadline looming.
"Moon Bear" double page spread collage illustration by Ed Young
Children’s and YA author Cynthia Leitich Smith gives an in incredibly generous and instructive interview to Julie Danielson at the Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog about the six year gestation of her newly published picture book Holler Loudly, illustrated by Barry Gott (Dutton). The interview includes some wonderful pagespreads from the book — original outline drawings and finished illustrations. You might also want to check out Barry Gott’s sketchedby book tumblr page .
"Sweet Baby Moon" by Karen Henry Clark, illustrated by Patrice Barton
Really nice guest post by my friend, illustrator Patrice Barton on Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s blog, Cynsations about the difference between picture book and chapter book illustrations. She also talks about her own illustration process.Read the post here. Her latest release is the gorgeous Sweet Moon Baby: An Adoption Tale by Karen Henry Clark (Knopf.)
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Holler Loudly by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Barry Gott (Dutton)
A trifecta children’s book launch party at Austin’s BookPeople on November 14 for Austin, Texas SCBWI authors Bethany Hegedus (Trouble with a Capital “T” – (Delacorte,, for ages 9-up), Brian Yansky (Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences – Candlewick, for ages 12 and up) and Cynthia Leitich Smith (Holler Loudly – illustrated by Barry Gotts – Dutton, for ages 4 and up ) drew a big crowd, including much or most of the Austin SCBWI membership. (We’re our own biggest fans.)
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Bruce Foster, the Houston-based paper engineer profiled in a recent How To Be A Children’s Book Illustrator post has attracted media attention in a USA Today review for Charles Dickens‘ A Christmas Carol: A Pop-Up Book, illustrated by Chuck Fischer, and a Dallas Morning News feature for, among other accomplishments, his engineering of the official Warner Brothers’ Harry Potter, a Pop-Up Book, illustrated by Andrew Williamson.
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The cleverly stocked refreshment table at the Trifecta Book Launch Party at BookPeople featuring Austin SCBWI authors Brian Yansky, Bethany Hegedus and Cynthia Leitich Smith and many other authors, including Anne Bustard (serving chili at the table) and Jennifer Ziegler ( in black leather jacket.) Writers Sean Petrie and Jan Baumer stand behind Anne.
An eager audience of parents, children, teachers and lots of Austin SCBWI members are ready for authors Brian Yansky, Cynthia Leitich Smith and Bethany Hegedus at BookPeople.
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Children’s author-illustrator Mark Mitchell hosts the Children’s Book Illustration and Illustration Course blogs.