Illustrators Eager to Welcome Booksellers to Their Studios

By Matthew Poulter

On Wednesday, May 28, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., during BookExpo America, registered booksellers will have the opportunity to meet with the creators of some of today’s best-selling and best-loved children’s books as part of the Children’s Book Council and ABC Children’s Group’s co-sponsored Illustrator Studio Tours. These intimate tours of the studios, apartments, and corner offices for a behind-the-scenes peek into the artists’ creative lives are open to all booksellers from ABC member stores, but pre-registration and pre-payment ($34.99) is required. Interested booksellers should register now because space is limited and registration closes May 12.

All registered booksellers will begin at the Czech Center’s Bohemian National Hall, where Peter Sís is eager to share his latest exhibit with booksellers. “When I came from Prague, I got to know this country through independent bookstores while touring for my books,” Sís explained. Meeting indie booksellers, he added, “is always like visiting family. I am so excited to welcome booksellers to my home away from home.” The exhibit will include a retrospective of Sís’s art along with new work from his forthcoming book The Pilot and the Little Prince (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers).

Before departing the Czech Center in smaller groups for 45 minute tours of two additional studios, booksellers will be provided with lunch. A full itinerary will be e-mailed to registrants prior to BEA and transportation to and from all studios following the Czech Center visit is included in the cost of registration.

Three of the participating artists — Fiona Robinson, John Bemelmans Marciano, and Thyra Heder — recently talked about their latest projects and how excited they are to welcome booksellers into their workspaces.

Fiona Robinson, whose most recent book is Whale Shines: An Artistic Tale (Abrams Books for Young Readers), rarely has guests to her studio. “I spend so much time alone here that to open it up to visitors seems both strange and exciting!” she said. “I hope people will ask me truly what they want to know, and not worry if a question seems too personal. I’ll probably have several pots of tea and biscuits ready.”

Robinson, who will soon be moving out of her current studio, added, “In three months I’m not sure where my home or studio will be! But I think this open studio event will give me some closure. It’ll be a celebration of creating some of my best work here.”

John Bemelmans Marciano has built on his grandfather’s legacy, creating new stories about everyone’s favorite Parisian, Madeline, and has also invented several unique worlds and characters, including The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield (Viking Children’s Books) with Sophie Blackall. Bemelmans Marciano and Blackall share a studio with Sergio Ruzzier. The three welcomed booksellers into their studio last year and are looking forward to meeting more booksellers again this year. The large, shared space can accommodate many more guests than the typical single-artist studio, so a larger group of booksellers will be scheduled here for an extended 90-minute tour.

“Last year was such a fantastic experience,” Bemelmans Marciano said, “in part because it made me realize that, yes, it is amazing to have the job that I do. There is so much work that goes into the making of each book, it’s wonderful to get to share behind-the-scenes sketches and dummies, especially with such an enthusiastic crew.”

For Bemelmans Marciano, the Illustrator Studio Tours represent an opportunity for booksellers and illustrators to really meet each other. “There is something so relaxing and nice about having bookstore folks visit. I’m so used to our interaction being during events, when booksellers are stressed about turnout and I’m thinking about what to say and present.” He added that his experience participating in last year’s tour “put me into such a better place in organizing my own tour this past fall, and creating a dream list of places I want to visit. I can’t wait to do it again this year.”

Thyra Heder, author and illustrator of Fraidyzoo (Abrams Books for Young Readers), is always working on something — whether it’s her next book, about a little girl and a bear in the Arctic, or a cardboard rhino head — and wants booksellers to be prepared for their visit. “My studio will be a flurry of watercolor experiments and final sketches of bears, glaciers, whales, and northern lights,” she warned. “My studio is also home to all the cardboard costumes and constructions that have emerged from making and promoting Fraidyzoo, and a life-sized fiberglass shark that guards the door.”

Heder explained that she is “excited to see what booksellers are drawn to within the space and the connections they make. It’s always a great way to gain perspective on what I’m making and to share a process that is usually hidden to most people, who only see the final product.”

Matthew Poulter is the events and program assistant/membership coordinator for The Children’s Book Council.