IBBY Congress, Museo Franz Mayer, and crocodiles

My crocodiles have been getting around lately... they travel much more than I do! This time they were spotted in Mexico City, at the Museo Franz Mayer (home of the largest collection of decorative arts in all of Latin America!).  I am thrilled to bits...

As you can see by the poster, it was an exhibit of the winning artwork from the Nami Island Illustration Concours (where Crocodile Shoes won an honorable mention in 2013, as you may recall). Nami Island, the sponsor of the Andersen Awards, holds this competition every two years. There is an annual and an exhibit which first opens in Korea, then goes on tour around the world — ending up wherever the IBBY Congress is held, I think.

As you can also see by the poster, the exhibit closed over a month ago. But for those of us who didn't get a chance to catch it, here are a few items to give a sense of it.  

First,  some photos from the gallery:

Hey...that's me!

The museum also hosted another children's illustration show at the same time,  Dibujando El Mundo.

It featured many of my illustration heroes — Kveta Pacovska, Shaun Tan, Sara Fanelli, Javier Zabala, Isol and many others. 

Between the museum's lovely ambience and the art on display, I really wish I could have been there! 

Both of the illustration shows were timed to coincide with the IBBY Congress — a bi-annual shindig bringing together all kinds of people from the world of children's books. It's held in countries all over the world, a different one each time.  I would so love to go one day! (The next one's in New Zealand, in 2016... plenty of time to save up!)

IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young Readers) is a fantastic organization — an NGO, in fact, with official status in UNICEF and UNESCO. With chapters in 72 countries worldwide, IBBY plays a role in policy-making regarding children's books, as well as recognizing and awarding excellence, playing a crucial part in the Bologna Children's Book Fair since its inception.

I've been reading this book about Jella Lepman — the gutsy, outspoken, imaginative woman who founded both IBBY and the International Youth Library in Munich, a wonderful place from the sounds of it. 

A Bridge of Children's Books well worth a read.  At the request of the American government, she returned to her native Germany after having fled the Nazis nine years previously. Arriving in 1945 just after the shooting had stopped, the grim rubble of postwar Europe she describes (not unlike The Third Man) is where she did her work of helping children starved for stories and hope. What she started is still thriving today! You can read more about that here, if you can't find the book...

Lastly, this year's Nami Concours is in progress— here's the shortlist of illustrators for the final round. So happy to see friends and acquaintances included here... well done, everybody!

PS. A shout out to Ana Aranda who took the photos in Mexico City — she's a wonderful illustrator I met at the SCBWI Conference, where she won the Mentorship Award for her excellent portfolio.  Merci, Ana!!

Honorable mention in the new 3x3!

Breaking news: I am very pleased to announce that one of my illustrations has been awarded an honorable mention in the latest 3x3 Picture Book Show! It's an image from "No Crocodiles in Town", a picture book I'm currently working on.

Detail

Early pencil sketch

I've been absent from this blog the past few months for both good reasons (a fantastic trip to New York, where I met with lots of my favorite publishers, attended the SCBWI Conference and caught up with long-lost friends) ... and for not-so-good reasons (involving hospitals and unbearable dread).  In the midst of it all, I have tried to continue sketching and grappling with new manuscripts.  But this blog fell by the wayside, somewhat :-(  .  Hopefully this won't happen again...

Now that I'm here, I did want to mention—horribly, ludicrously late—that I finally received my copy of 3x3 No. 10, the annual from last year (!!) ... and it's a beaut! Look:

Beautifully printed and hard-bound, it unites work from all three of the shows (Picture Book, Pro, and Student Work) in a single volume. Below is my page, featuring the cover and four spreads from "Crocodile Shoes" (my as-yet-unpublished picture book, discussed ad nauseum on this blog already).

In a happy coincidence, the page next to mine had images by my friend Zack Rock whose new book ("Homer Henry Hudson's Curio Museum") will be published very soon! Go Zack, go! In fact, the whole annual is overflowing with wonderful work, definitely worth a look.

For those of you who are interested, the 3x3 annual No. 10 is available in both print and digital formats — click here to see!

Bologna or bust!

It's that time of year again: the Bologna Children's Book Fair is starting in a few short days! But right now, I'm 6152 miles away from it — and that's something that would normally give me a bad case of the Bologna Blues.

BUT WAIT!!  I've had a bit of good news ... my illustrations (from Crocodile Shoes) are among the finalists in the SCBWI-Bologna Illustration Show, and I am very honored!

Ever since 2004, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has maintained a regular presence at the Bologna Book Fair — their stand there hosts many activities as well as the Illustrator's Gallery. Participation is open to SCBWI members internationally, and it attracts illustrators from all over.

I'm in good company this year — the wonderful illustrators Isabel Roxas and Maple Lam, to name just two. And in previous years, there has been a stellar cast of artists from around the world: Sophie Blackall, Eliza Wheeler, Constanze Von Kitzing, Jane Ray, Satoshi Kitamura, Jennifer Thermes, G.Brian Karas, and Barbara McClintock... among many, many others. Not too shabby!

So if you do find yourself in Bologna (lucky you!), the SCBWI stand is at A/66 in Pavilion 26... that's the area that usually has a majority of English-language publishers present. Stop by and say hello!

PS. When I went to Bologna a few years ago, I wrote about it here and here.

PPS.  Anna Castagnoli has posted this handy guide of Bologna's museums, bookshops, various events, plus places to eat and drink. Lots of good suggestions, check it out -- grazie, Anna!

PPPS.  Laura's got some advice

Year of the Crocodile

Well I never!

I've had a fantastic surprise in my inbox ... the Society of Illustrators has selected four of my images for Illustrators 56. The artwork (from Crocodile Shoes, my unpublished book) will be on show at the Museum of American illustration in New York City starting in early January. I hope to be able to see it in person when I go visit (my first trip back to NY in over a decade—talk about timing!). There will also be a lavishly printed annual, coming out later in the year. More on that soon.

Thank you to the Society of Illustrators, for giving me such a good reason to celebrate on this damp grey weekday (Champagne, and lots of it. You are welcome to join me!!). And congratulations to the other artists selected for this show... a very inspiring lineup indeed.

OK, it's time to get back to work now. Nose to grindstone, shoulder to wheel, eyes front! But you, lovely reader, may want to look at these:

•Charlotte Zolotow (children's author and editor who died a few days ago): remembered here and here

•Masako Kubo making a print (1:35 video) 

•Parov Stelar dancin' up a storm. More happy energy: this is what I'm doing today, between sketching and sipping bubbly!

3x3 Picture Book Show

I seem to be on a roll lately.  First the SCBWI Grand Prize, and now this:

3x3 magazine has decided to include my work in their upcoming Picture Book Annual.  Again!!  A set of five illustrations from my book "Crocodile Shoes" received a Merit award (in the category of Children's Book, unpublished) --above is a little vignette from it. If you'd like to see a few more images from it, click here.

I am thrilled to be included among such wonderful illustrators from all over the world— some very familiar artists, as well as new discoveries whose work I am eager to see.  The annual should be available in a few months time...I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks very much to the judges and to Charles Hively.  And now... I've got to go do some dancin' in the streets!

Nami Island International Illustration Concours

Good news — my illustrated book project has been selected for the Nambook Festival (aka Nami Island International Illustration Concours) !!  It has to stay under wraps at present, but I can still show you a few glimpses from my selected project.  You'll get a flavour of what I've been up to lately, even though it's out of context.

The Nambook Festival is a yearly children's book event in South Korea, about 70 km south of Seoul on an beautiful tranquil island with groves of giant redwood trees.  Nambook is affiliated with IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young people), as well as being an official sponsor of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards.... presented to the winners each year at the Bologna Book Fair.

The list of winners is pretty impressive—an array of international talent that includes many illustrators who have also been selected for Bologna, Bratislava, 3x3, Ilustrarte, Sàrmede and other places where children's book illustrations are recognized and celebrated.  The grand prix went to the wonderful Korean illustrator Sung-Hee Kim.  A few of the other names that jumped out are:  David Pintor, Eva Montanari, Sonja Danowska, Rashin Kheiriyeh and Irma Gruenholz. And so many others... I'm looking forward to discovering their work!

The illustration exhibit at Nami Island takes place from 25 April to 31 May.  There will be a catalogue/annual of the art show as well.  And if any of you are going to Bologna for the book fair (from 25 to 28 March, in two short weeks from now!), the Nambook Festival has a stand (A36 / H29). Stop by and say hi!

UPDATE:  For those of you going to the Bologna Book Fair, the Nami Illustration Concours will give a brief presentation at the Author's Café on Wednesday 27 March at 16:30 — jury members and illustrators will be on hand for a show-and-tell session. Wish I could be there, too...