How did you become Art Director at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers and what was your career path leading up to that time? I studied European History and Fine Art back in the dark ages. But after my children were born, I began looking at children’s picture books in earnest. Initially, I was looking for good […]
Tell us about your background including what some of the key highlights have been I graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston with an honours degree in Graphic Design in 1989. The course was a 4 year sandwich course and, as part of the course, I spent 6 months working in the Manchester […]
How did you get your first big break in publishing and what have been some of the highlights since then? I got my break in publishing through a friend from Art Center. She had graduated a term ahead of me and landed a job designing young adult and adult covers for Harcourt. She called me […]
How did you get your first break in publishing and what important lessons have you learned along the way? After I graduated from college, I attended the Radcliffe Publishing Course (now the Columbia Publishing Course). Through the RPC, I got a job at Puffin Books, the paperback imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group. I’ve learned […]
How did you get started in publishing and what have been some of the highlights of your career so far? I’ve been in various aspects of publishing for my entire career. Having graduated with a degree in journalism, my first job was in the magazine world from which I worked my way up to publisher […]
Tell us about your career in publishing to date including how you came to your current role, Creative Director at Hachette Book Group. I started working at Ballantine Books (Random House) in their in-house advertising department. It was just when the MAC was making it’s way into designers hands. So I was lucky to have […]
You have been working in publishing for over 20 years. Tell us how your career got started and what some of the highlights have been. Having always been passionate about books and reading, as well as design, I was extremely lucky to stumble into Collins straight out of college, having cold-called the art director hoping […]
How did your career in publishing begin and what have been some of the highlights? I sort of came into publishing sideways. Albert Whitman has been independently owned for almost 100 years. When a new owner took over, I had just begun freelancing again. The company wanted to reinvigorate their identity in the marketplace. They […]
As Creative Director for Amulet Books, Abrams Books for Young Readers, and ComicArts, how do you divide your time between these three imprints and what are your primary responsibilities? Being Creative Director is not unlike my former post as art director. The two big differences are the addition of two new imprints under my direction. […]
Prior to setting up Nosy Crow in February 2010, you were MD of Macmillan Children’s Books, Group MD of Scholastic UK Ltd, and then CEO of Headline. Talk us through your career to date including the decision to launch your own independent publishing company. I left university with a degree in English and a real […]
Stripes Publishing was founded in 2006 and has since published a host of successful titles including Lost in the Snow, Fleas! and the Dinkin Dings series. How long have you been Design Manager and what was your professional background prior to joining the company? I left university with a degree in Illustration for Children’s Publishing […]
Talk us through your career in publishing, highlighting key milestones including your current position as Art Director at Penguin Group USA. I attended the Rhode Island School of Design from 1995 to 1999, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Illustration. During my time there, I went from wanting to be an architect to a painter […]
Tell us about your experience in children’s publishing and explain what led you to set up Phoenix Yard Books? We set up Phoenix Yard because we thought there was a gap in the market for very distinctive, stylish and slightly quirky picturebooks and literary fiction. Books from other countries in other languages had long been […]
Tell us about your background including how you arrived at your current role, Editor for Maverick Books. After realising that my childhood dream job of working with horses was going to be a very hard, continuous slog I opted for a path which would eventually involve sitting at a desk! I studied English Literature and […]
Talk us through your career to date including how you came to be Art Director for Peachtree Publishers, an independent publisher of children’s, middle grades and YA books. My route from graduate portfolio to first job was unusually short – the job was waiting for me as soon as the diploma was handed into my […]
Describe your professional journey explaining how you arrived at your current position, Senior Designer at Macmillan Children’s Books. The two areas of design I have always been interested are children’s books and music. I studied Visual Communication at the University of Technology, Sydney, and majored in Illustration. After finishing uni I came over to London […]
What is your professional background and how did you come to be Art Director at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt? Here’s how I started with HMH. Five years ago, I was hired as a Senior Designer in children’s books, specifically paperbacks. Two years later, I was promoted to Associate Art Director overseeing paperbacks while also designing young […]
Can you tell us about your professional background including how you came to found your own publishing company, Schwartz and Wade Books. I was an English major at Skidmore College but I always admired the art majors so when I graduated and was offered the position of assistant to the Art Director/Adult Trade Publishing at […]
Tell us a little about yourself, including how you came to be Art Director at Alison Green Books. I studied a BA in graphic design at the University of the Arts in Bournemouth. I wasn’t too keen on the more serious sides of graphic design, and quickly found that children’s design was an area that […]
How did your career begin in children’s publishing? By chance! I’d actually planned to go travelling for a year before committing to my first job after university. The then Publisher and Art Director at Meadowside Children’s Books approached me at my final year BA Graphic Design show at Kingston University, and later offered me the […]
Tell us a little about how you got into children’s publishing and what your current role, Associate Art Director for Simon & Schuster, broadly entails. I interned at Simon & Schuster Children’s Design division the summer following my junior year of college. When I graduated the following spring there was a Junior Designer position available […]
Describe your career to date including your current position, Art Director at Caterpillar Books. After graduating in 2001 with a BA in Graphic Arts from Liverpool John Moores specialising in Children’s illustration, I began my career as a freelance illustrator with my first commissions for OUP and the BBC. Only a few months later I […]
Tell us about your path to becoming Executive Art Director at Britain’s leading independent publisher, Walker Books. I haven’t followed a complicated career path. I ended my education by graduating from a Fine Art MA, and hoped to make it as a painter and set up a studio practice. However whilst I was studying I […]
How did your journey in children’s publishing begin and what led you to set up your own independent company, Piccadilly Press, in 1983? My husband and I moved to London from North America so that he could join his cousin in running a bookshop. His cousin knew Kaye Webb from Puffins, and I helped out […]
How did you arrive at your current position of Art Director at one of the world’s largest independent publishing companies, Candlewick Press, and what was your career path before that? Stalking. No, really! I had traveled to New England from California for a wedding and knew that Candlewick was in Cambridge, MA (we are now […]
Tell us about your background and how you come to set up your own independent children’s publishing company, Inside Pocket? Sarah: I’m a copyright and trade mark lawyer by background, although my first job after training was actually in a start up publishing company, responsible for contracts and licensing. I spent two years there, and […]
Describe your professional background to date including including any career highlights and how you came to your current role as Art Director for Penguin Children’s Books? After graduating with a BA in Graphic Design from Middlesex Polytechnic where I spent a lot of my time printmaking and producing hand made books I lived in Sydney, […]
How long have you worked at Campbell Books and what is your previous career history? After graduating from Lanchester Polytechnic with a degree in Graphic Design, I had a few jobs in publishing (including working on gardening books and even in the marketing department of a company publishing medical journals) before I realised that children’s […]
What is your professional background and how did you become Art Director at Egmont UK? I have been working in the publishing industry for 17 years. Having left university studying graphic design, I stumbled into the world of children’s books, and began freelancing for Hodder & Stoughton. Realising how much I loved children’s publishing, I […]
When did you begin to consider a career in publishing and how did you arrive at your current role as Senior Project Editor at Sourcebooks, Inc? I’ve always loved books – especially picture books. And I’ve always had a love for art and photography, and is something I continually pursue as a hobby. My initial […]
Prior to setting up Templar Publishing in 1978, you were an illustrator. How has your background in illustration influenced your decision making as Managing Director of one of the world’s leading publishing houses? Love of illustration has had an enormous influence on the shape of all things at Templar – from the decision to concentrate […]
What path led you to your current position at OUP? I’ve had a lot of jobs before coming to OUP! In terms of my education though I was interested in a whole range of creative disciplines such as photography, art and theatre. After my Art Foundation I still couldn’t decide what I wanted to specialise […]
Can you give us an overview on your career so far, including your current role as Senior Art Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. I started my career in book publishing designing for Cartwheel Books, the novelty imprint at Scholastic. It was a great place to learn about many different formats in children’s […]
Childrensillustrators.com caught up with Mike Jolley at the 2010 London Book Fair. Take us through your background including how you came to work for Templar Publishing. My background IS Templar Publishing! The Art Director at the time came to my end of year show at Reigate Art School (sadly no longer), and after a couple […]
We caught up with Children’s Publisher of the Year, David Salariya, Salariya Publishing at The Bologna Book Fair 2010. Could you provide background detail on your own career to date culminating in the formation of Salariya Publishing. The whole of my education up until I left Art School took place within walking distance of my […]
Tell us about your career to date including how you came to your current position at Puffin Books. I took a children’s literature course my last semester and thought it would be fantastic to get a job in children’s book publishing. I moved to New York City after graduating, answered an ad in the New […]
Tell us a little about your career to date including your current role as Creative Director of Boxer Books? After studying book design in the early 1970’s I set out as a designer in a small magazine in the heart of Soho. Crazy times and lots of fun and I was able to try my […]
Could you tell us about how you entered the world of publishing and detail your subsequent rise to Editorial Director (Picture Books & Novelties) at Simon & Schuster? After leaving university with a degree in French and Italian, and joining an advertising and marketing agency for a short while, I decided that I wanted to […]
The Creative Company has a rich family history. Tell us a little about the company and its publishing ethos. The Creative Company was started by my grandfather, George Peterson, Sr., in 1932. His first product was a set of over 500 rubber stamps that were used by teachers to teach everything from spelling to geography […]
How did you enter the world of children’s publishing and can you elaborate on your subsequent rise to the position of Associate Publisher at Five Mile? I did a modern languages degree and as I couldn’t find a job I did a secretarial course which led to a job as assistant to the Marketing Director […]
Could you tell us about how you entered the world of publishing and detail your subsequent rise to Art Director with Clarion Books? I graduated from Parsons School of Design where I majored in Communication Design. I wanted to work in advertising and be clever and make lots of money. After several HORRIBLE interviews at […]
Could you tell us a little about your professional background? After graduating from Tulane University, I had a brief stint working at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but my first publishing job was at Random House as an editorial assistant. Fortunately for me, the books I worked on did not contain much copy (I am […]
Could you tell us about how you entered the world of publishing and detail your subsequent rise to Art Director with Front Street? I happened to be at the right place at the right time. Stephen Roxburgh, the publisher of Front Street (which was then a two person award-winning publishing company with a reputation for […]
Could you tell us about your professional background? I graduated with a degree in art (photography) from Tulane University and have been involved in art, design and publishing ever since – mostly freelance. Served as art director for trade and consumer magazines. I created a line of greeting cards and served as editorial cartoonist for […]
What is your professional background and how did you end up as Director of Art & Design at Holiday House? I have a BFA cum laude in Book Design from Pratt Institute. I went to Pratt thinking I would be a painter, but had such an affinity for graphic design that I switched majors. Aware […]
Could you tell us about your professional background? I wear two hats on most days: one as author/illustrator and one as editorial director for First Second. I was formerly designing children’s books at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and at the same time got my first contracts illustrating picture books. I was determined […]
What is your professional background and how did you end up as Design Director at Chronicle? I have a degree in Fine Art, and went on to do an MA in Design where my thesis project focused on children’s book illustration and design. After finishing my education, I had my sights set on working in […]
Could you tell us about how you entered the world of publishing and detail your subsequent rise to Art Director with Usborne Publishing? I trained in textiles first, then changed to illustration, was an illustrator for a while ( a pretty bad one). I decided I wasn’t going to earn much of a living as […]
Could you tell us about your professional background and what led to the creation of Raven Tree Press. I have been in sales and marketing my entire career. I had been linked to local writers and artists, professionally and personally and thought I could combine the two with this profession. I saw a need in […]
Could you tell us about your professional background? I left college in 1986 having studied Graphic Design and Advertising, and originally intended to get work as a copywriter in an ad agency. However, due to a terrible case of post-grad poverty, I took up design work to pay the rent. Things got out of hand […]
How and why did you become commissioning editor for picture books? I first fell in love with picture books when, as a child, I was given a copy of The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. I always loved reading and was very interested in how a book was created so it was a natural choice for […]
How did you enter the world of children’s publishing and can you elaborate on your subsequent rise to the position of Art Director at Macmillan? My passion has always been for Children’s publishing and I left Bath Academy of Art with a degree in Graphic Design, but a desire to be a children’s illustrator. After […]
Could you tell us about how you entered the world of publishing and detail your subsequent rise to Executive Art Director with HarperCollins Children’s Books? Like many designers I know, my entry into publishing was serendipitous. I had been a clothing designer for several years and longed for something creative that was more meaningful and […]
How did you enter the world of children’s publishing and can you elaborate on your subsequent rise to the position of Art Director at HarperCollins? My entry into children’s publishing was fairly serendipitous. I had just moved to New York City and was looking to take a full-time job (in any field) while pursuing a […]
How and why did you become an Associate Art Director? I always knew I wanted to be in Art. I went to Virginia Tech University and majored in Studio Art/Graphic Design with a minor in Communications. I had planned on going into Advertising, but after working for a small advertising/marketing agency in Virginia, I decided […]
Could you tell us about your background within children’s publishing and your subsequent rise to the position of Executive Vice President and Publisher at Intervisual Books? I have always wanted to be a publisher of children’s books. When I was eight years old I went to neighbors and friends, interviewed them, wrote their story and […]
Could you tell us about your professional background? Once upon a time, when I had returned from teaching English in Japan as a young postgraduate, I responded to an advertisement in the Guardian for a copywriter at Penguin Books. I got the job, and worked at Penguin for the next seven years, latterly as Managing […]
We caught up with Deirdre McDermott at Walker Books HQ in London, UK who had just returned from a Sales Conference in Boston, USA. Could you tell us a little about your background and how you rose to the position of Publisher at Walker Books. I trained as a graphic designer at the National College […]
Tell us about Just Us Books, Inc. What does your company stand for and how does it differentiate itself from others in the marketplace? Just Us Books, Inc. is an independent press that publishes Black-interest books for young people. We publish concept books, picture books, chapter books, poetry, non-fiction, biographies, and young adult fiction. We […]
How and why did you become an Art Director? I became an Art Director at HarperCollins Children’s Books in 1990. I had started there as Harriet Barton’s assistant and worked my way up to Art Director, and luckily, Harriet was a great mentor and she taught me to trust my instincts about artwork. I became […]
