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2023 READING PICTURES: The Artist’s Voice and Vocabulary in Picture Books
December 4, 2023 @ 1:00 pm - 5:30 pm
$30.00Join us for an in-depth exploration of the annual Original Art exhibit, featuring the very best illustrations in books for children this year.
Art Directors Laurent Linn (Simon & Schuster) and Cecilia Yung (Penguin Books for Young Readers) will examine the highlights of this spectacular show, discuss industry trends, and share back stories of some of the books on view.
Illustrators Catia Chien, Juana Martinez-Neal, and Selina Alko will reveal their behind-the-scenes decisions and demonstrate their creative process.
The day will conclude with a book signing and a chance to chat with your colleagues, the illustrators, and the art directors.
Ticket Info:
Non-refundable registration is $30.00
Includes admission (value $15), art directors talk, presentations by three illustrators, and a copy of the exhibition catalog (value $20).
Tickets may be purchased at the link below.
About the Artists
Cátia Chien is a Brazilian Taiwanese artist. She’s the illustrator of such titles as The Bear and the Moon, which was a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for Original Art winner and a Golden Kite Award for picture book illustration winner, A Boy and a Jaguar, an ALA Notable Book and recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award. Her art has been shown in galleries worldwide including the Beijing National Gallery and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair exhibition. She is also the founder of A THOUSAND WORLDS – a curated picture book directory celebrating BIPOC creators. She lives in New York City with her family.
Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for Alma and How She Got Her Name (Candlewick Press), her debut picture book as author-illustrator. She is also a New York Times bestselling illustrator recipient of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Medal for Fry Bread: A Native American Story (Roaring Brook) and the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for La Princesa and the Pea (Putnam).
Juana was named to the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor list in 2014, and was awarded the SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Grand Prize in 2012. She was born in Lima, the capital of Peru, and now lives in Connecticut, with her husband and three children.
It is no wonder that award-winning writer-illustrator Selina Alko now spends her days melding words and mixed-media art to convey stories of hope and inspiration—as well as an alternative viewpoint. Growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a Turkish Jewish father who spoke seven languages and taught painting and an Ashkenazi Jewish mother who worked in the family’s century-old metal recycling business, she was surrounded by the melody of words and stories from different places. Selina’s books include The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage, Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama, Stars of the Night: The Courageous Children of the Czech Kindertransport, and I is for Immigrants, which was selected as a 2022 Best Book of the Year by Bank Street Books and garnered a Silver Medal from The Society of Illustrators. Selina lives in Brooklyn, New York with her two children and her loyal cat, Czen. www.selinaalko.com