Monday, November 1, 12:01 a.m. it starts. Smoking keyboards. Tsunamis of words. Bloodshot eyes. Yes, it is National Novel Writing Month and the annual ritual of writers worldwide trying to complete their 50,000 word novels before November 30th. There are some interesting statistics (including a list of whose books were published). Are you going to […]
By Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen: Recently, the New York Times declared that picture books are essentially dead. Really? Take a look at this: Does that look dead to you? As a primarily-picture-book-author like me, the idea that picture books are done for is a terrifying prospect. But rather than cringe on a corner of my bed and […]
Tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Courtney Booth of Sotheby’s will be auctioning off the sculptures of Simple Gifts: Contemporary Artists Celebrate at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA as part of a celebration of the HSV’s 50th Anniversary. My wall sculpture Hancock Shaker Triptych is among the works to be auctioned. See the article here. For […]
Permanent outdoor sculpture is big and expensive, so how do artists show new work without spending a fortune? This may not be an issue once your reputation and client list are golden, but meanwhile most artists make small maquettes for proposals. David Davies has been working on another solution. His two pieces in a recent […]
Yes, writers and illustrators in other countries produce wonderful children’s books, as we do. And why shouldn’t we consider those too? A number of years ago I started collecting children’s picture books from other countries I visited. When friends or relatives went somewhere exotic, I sometimes asked them to bring one home for me. I […]
Chakaia Booker uses a lowly material to make elegant, intriguing sculptures that have rhythm and varied textures. They are durable for outdoor exhibits and environmentally considerate. She uses recycled common tires, cut up in various ways to yield textures that suggest scales, feathers, hair, basketry and other surfaces. These are wrapped around wood and steel […]
An article in the New York Times today cites testimony from publishers and bookstores who have seen a significant decline in the number of picturebooks being purchased by parents. They expose their toddlers to books for older kids in an attempt to prepare them for the higher testing standards and competition of today’s schools. They […]
In June we embarked on a major road trip around the Great Lakes from our home in MA. I brought some books on CD for in the car and a couple of paperbacks including Eleven, a powerful and poignant story by Patricia Reilly Giff. In the book, Sam who is just turning eleven, suspects that […]