Hanbury | Self-Promotion

Although the focus of the Hanbury event is on professional talks and networking, I still wanted to put together a piece of work that could be handed out to those attending.

Since publications and zines are a large part of what I do, I decided to reprint one of my own publications as an artefact to give away. Although I think business cards are important, I thought that a larger, more substantial object would seem a little more interesting.

I chose this particular zine because I think it shows the naive, experimental aesthetic of my work as well as the values that are important to me.

The yellow slip of paper has my name and some contact details, I thought this would add a business card-like function to the publication, and it also contrasts against the booklet itself nicely. One worry of the size was that people might have found it impractical to carry around, as opposed to a small card.

But on the other hand, it makes it stand out in some ways.

I also produced a small book of samples to show that I can approach image making in different ways, using a mixture of processes and mediums.

Hanbury | Finalised Questions

After meeting today, James and I have refined the questions  and devised which order they should be asked in, so that they follow on from one another.

1. You guys clearly have distinct visual identities / tone of voice. Talk to us about how you achieve this, what is important to you in your output?

2. Speaking of your output, there is a clear difference amongst yourselves as commercial and independent publishers, could you discuss how the areas both differ, or even the similarities they possibly share?

3. Now we have an understanding of what you strive for, tell us what you look for in an illustrator, in terms of both their tone of voice, and work ethic?

4. Speaking of both your tone of voice, and the people you work with, tell us about the collaboration between the two. How do you showcase or merge both your own tone of voice, and that of the artist?

5. A big part of being an illustrator is to get your work out there. Do you have any advice on how to engage with an audience, speaking from your own experiences with social media, print, etcetera…

6. Continuing from beginner advice, do you have any pointers for starting a publication or press? What challenges and triumphs did you encounter? What to be aware of?

7. What trends have emerged within the publishing industry, and how do they impact what you do?

8. Do you have any advice for graduates, both generally speaking, and those wishing to work within publishing?

Hanbury | Refining Questions

Questions listed by me and Joe in preparation for hosting the publishing talk.

General Questions:

What new trends have emerged within publishing? Where do you see these moving to in the future?

Is there any advice you would give to illustrators who wish to author or become involved in publishing for the first time?

What advice would you give to new illustrators who are trying to develop a network?

Are there any common misconceptions that illustrators have about the role of publishers?

Is good use of social media important for aspiring illustrators?

Macmillan

Large publisher with a global reach that produce books in a broad range of categories
As such would have a good knowledge of trends

How has the use of illustration in publishing changed over time?

What role does illustration have in publishing outside children’s literature?

What common traits do successful illustrators share?

Nobrow 

What is it that you look for in a potential publications?

Nobrow has a very clear and unique identity, how important a factor do you think this is in your success?

Nobrow was started independently by just two people, what challenges did you face and what advice would you give to someone else starting out?

It’s Nice That

It’s nice that produces and showcases work on a range of platforms. How important do you think it is for illustrators to engage their audience and produce work on a variety of different platforms?

Do you have any set criteria for the kind of work you publish?

How do feel that producing a regular publication differentiates you from other publishers and affects your relationship with your audience?

Hanbury | Macmillan Research

Macmillan Publishing / Pan Macmillan uk

One of the largest general book publishers in the UK, with imprints including Macmillan, Mantle, Pan, Picador, Boxtree, Sidgwick & Jackson, Bello, Tor, Kingfisher, Macmillan Children's Books.......and more...

Expansion programme initiated in the 1960s, introducing academic, educational and literary publishing due to growth in reference programmes, college textbooks and educational journals.

Today, one of the best-known international publishers in the world, operating in over 70 countries.

Macmillan Publishers is a global trade book publishing company with prominent imprints around the world. Publishing a broad range of award-winning books for children and adults in all categories and format.

U.S. publishers include Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Picador, St. Martin's Press, and Tor Books.

In the UK, Australia, India, and South Africa, Macmillan publishes under the Pan Macmillan name.

New titles, as well as re-releasing a number of classics (Moomin books, Alice in Wonderland...)

The Macmillan Prize for Illustration - The Macmillan Prize For Children's Picture Book Illustration was established by Macmillan Children's Books to stimulate new work from young illustrators in art schools, and to help them take the first steps in their professional lives. Currently in it's 33rd year.

The prize has discovered the likes of Bethan Woollvin, illustrator and write (won in 2014)

Rapunzel (2017) published by Two Hoots (UK)

Little Red (2017) published by Two Hoots (UK)

In 2017, first prize was awarded to Elina Ellis with her submission 'The Truth About Old People'.

Hanbury | Nobrow Research

Nobrow Press is a British publishing company based in London.

FEB is the children's imprint of visual publishing house Nobrow, established in 2013. Much like it's parent publisher, they wished to focus on exciting design and production but instead focusing on children's storytelling and non-fiction works.

'Whatever the project, whatever the medium, genre, or format, Flying Eye Books will take your children's eyes on a journey of wonder!'

Flying Eye titles include the Hildafolk series by Luke Pearson, and Shackleton's Journey by William Grill.

'Flying Eye's beautiful books for curious children', Creative Review
Eliza Williams, 2016 [link]

'In less than four years, Flying Eye has established itself as a publisher of immaculately illustrated, unusual kids' books, with one now being developed into a series by Netflix [Hilda series]. We talk to Sam Arthur about why business is booming in the world of children's titles.'

'In amongst classics...Flying Eye books stand out for a number of reasons, but mainly for their use of quirky but beautiful illustration and unusual characters, which include a little girl called Hilda and Professor Astro Cat.'

 Hilda and the Stone Forest by Luke Pearson

'An imprint of Nobrow, the publisher of illustrated titles for adults, Flying Eye initially emerged for practical purposes. "We've always loved children's picture books and found the genre to be really inspiring," says Sam Arthur, co-founder of both Nobrow and Flying Eye. "We had created a few books under the Nobrow imprint such as the Hilda series, which were always intended to be for kids.'"

"However, publishing them under Nobrow meant that they were never looked at by the children's buyers and often ended up in the adult graphic novel sections of the stores. We set up Flying Eye Books as a direct way to answer this problem."

'Arthur's main desire with Flying Eye is to create children's books that people will cherish and keep. "We want to make books that children will want to hold onto and pass on to their own children in years to come"'

"We have books for 0-5 years and books for 6-11 years, and hopefully some of them are enjoyed by 11-99 years too"

'At a time when parents are often struggling to find books that will attract them away from the dreaded screens, Flying Eye titles stand out for their unusual style and approach.'

"The publishing industry has relied on tried and tested formulae to create new titles rather than pushing into new areas and ideas. It's much more exciting suddenly because we understand that our audience is open to something more unusual - though for me, unusual really just means different and fascinating."

"We are constantly looking for new projects and dreaming up new ideas"

Task 4 | Professional Profiles

Profile 1: It's Nice That / Printed Pages Magazine

It's Nice That's bi-annual magazine, Printed Pages. Described in SS17 as
• '...240 pages of inspiring work and engaging articles featuring creatives from around the world.'
• 'Providing an essential overview of the creative world today...'
• '...an optimistic record of the power of creativity in all its forms.'

It's Nice That began as a website that featured work of practicing creatives, before launching their magazine (which became Printed Pages in 2013), and an extensive events programme comprised of lectures, talks, workshops and symposiums. Their aim is to showcase and celebrate work from across a range of creative disciplines, presenting that of established names as well as newcomers.

What interests me most is how they cover a lot of ground, existing in many different contexts - from digital, to print, to events organisation. How could a person (or a small group) could facilitate these types of things. I would like to see my own practice existing in many broad contexts and having many functions and purposes to operate within.

Also, this aligns with my interest in publishing and having works that take on a printed format. I could ask who is involved in this process, and if publishing is as difficult as it seems, what resources are available, who would support these ambitions, what basics are needed to set up a publication, etc..

Profile 2: Hato Press

London-based Risograph printer and publishing house that also functions as a specialist shop, selling artists prints and other printed goods, as well as running workshops, events, and exhibitions. In some ways, Hato is split into two sides - working as a printer that produces printed work on commission on behalf of clients and collaborators, and then also working as an arts space and events organiser to a non-commercial audience, representing themselves.

In terms of relevance to my future practice, if I'm not printing work myself, I would like to know how an organisation like Hato could support me in working collaboratively with them. They also offer Printernships, where they will encourage recent graduates to extend their practice whilst using Hato's space and facilities.

Profile 3: Nobrow Press

Publishers that produce illustration books, children's books (Flying Eye), Nobrow magazine - which features illustrated works that adhere to a certain theme, as well as a number of smaller edition books that operate under the label of Nobrow small press.

Nobrow's publishing catalogue spans across different genres, narratives, themes, and they have worked with a huge number of international artists. They refer to what they do as Visual Publishing, which is a great term as it encompasses so many different types of books and printed publications.

Not only is the narrative and visual content of what they produce important to them, but also the ways in which the publications are put together - in terms of their design and their production processes that are used. The breadth of what they bring to a wider audience is so vast, and leaves a lot of room for innovative ideas to come in the future.

Hanbury | Invites

As part of the preparation for Hanbury Hall in January, I've been helping a small group from the class with the designs of some of the materials.

Isaac, Kieran, and myself worked on putting together a design for the invites we will send to the guests. I contributed some of the drawings that were eventually arranged into the final pattern design.

We decided to take this to screenprint as opposed to digital printing, as it made the finished artefact more special. Below are the first layers of colour, and then the final line layer. The plan is to cut out areas of the pattern to form the smaller invite, meaning each one will be a different cropped area of the design.