last week i went to the
frankfurt book fair, and for the first time i was carrying my portfolio to show to publishers - so exciting! one should think i had enough time to prepare, but of course the days and nights before were spent in a manic state - drawing, printing and drinking lots of tea.
luckily, i had my illustrator friends
billy and
stephanie to accompany and support me. i wasn't sure what to expect, knowing that my portfolio is a bit of a mixed bag - with editorial illustrations from my time at prinz magazine, pattern designs, random images and some new book projects. but i was off to a great start on wednesday morning at coppenrath, where i got some lovely feedback and was encouraged to send them stuff. actually, everyone at the publishers i saw was really nice and encouraging, even if they considered my work as too mature for their childrens books (although i have been told there are some grumpy ones, too!).
day one confirmed for me that i need to focus my portfolio on my strengths and on the projects i really want to work on, like book covers and editorial illustrations. this was also reflected in the short consultation i had booked with illustration consultant
karin gruss at the beginning of day two, which was very helpful as she has a great eye for spotting your strengths and weaknesses and some ideas as to which publishers might be the right fit. it was also interesting to see that the publishers you think of as a great fit for your work might not think that at all - and the other way round, so don't dismiss publishers hastily when you come to the book fair the first time!
i spent four days at the book fair and had a great time talking to fourteen publishers, also collecting contact details from a few more, and meeting lots of people i know from university as well as making some new friends while waiting in line for a consultation or hanging out at the long table at the booth of the
illustratoren organisation ... here are some impressions from the frankfurt book fair and the many gorgeous books on show - enjoy!
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| a little sleepy but excited: off to the book fair, day one! |
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| first thing: collecting all the dates for consultation hours |
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| the best place to hang out, relax and regroup |
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| the nosy crow booth |
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| clever book idea from australian publisher lake press |
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| cheeky! i love jean jullien's new book (or is it?!) | | |
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| dear adam rex, i love what you do! |
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| why should an elephant wear pants? exactly! too cute! |
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| indiecon from hamburg selling the best independent magazines |
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| gorgeous minimal design with perforated cover (of course - it's a book about stamps) |
