Part of a series introducing the Mentors for the 2019-2020 SCBWI-WWA Mentorship Program. This post introduces two picture book portfolio Mentors, Amy Hevron and Jo Gershman. Applicants will receive information about acceptance into this program in early Fall, 2019. For more information about the mentorship program visit here: https://wwa.scbwi.org/2019-mentorship-program/.
Mentor: Amy Hevron
Author-illustrator Amy Hevron draws inspiration from wildlife, nature, and travel. She is a two-time winner of the Portfolio Honor Award from the SCBWI National Conference. Amy illustrated picture books Trevor by Jim Averbeck, Moon Babies by Karen Jameson, and Dust Wants A Friend which she also wrote. She is currently writing and illustrating the non-fiction picture book The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration which comes out Spring 2021 from Neal Porter Books. Previously, Amy worked as an art director and designer at design firms and game companies.
Q: Why do you like to mentor aspiring writers?
My own illustration career has been helped so much by mentors. So I enjoy helping others on their journey.
Q: What does being a successful published professional look like to you?
I just love making art and creating characters with stories. And when my stories and characters connect with a child, that feels like success to me.
Q: What can a mentee expect from your mentorship?
I had a great first year mentoring an author/illustrator to build a stronger portfolio for this industry. It worked well last year to set up phone call check-ins roughly every 6 weeks with illustration assignments in between. I’ve seen the best results when the mentee is prepared to work hard, is open to constructive feedback, and has fun experimenting with new art techniques and subject matter for their portfolio.
Q: What are you reading?
Just finished Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. And I’m really into folktales so reading The Little Book of Hidden People, a collection of Icelandic folklore. Picture book-wise, some recent favorites are Music for Mister Moon by Philip Stead & Erin Stead and The Good Egg by Jory John & Pete Oswald.
Q: What are you working on these days?
I’m currently writing and illustrating a non-fiction picture book called The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern’s Migration about a juvenile Arctic Tern’s first migration south.
Mentor: Jo Gershman
Jo Gershman is an illustrator and book designer living in Seattle, WA. She has illustrated over 35 books for children and adults, working with publishers including Feiwel and Friends (Wind Dancer Series) and Peter Pauper Press (The Nutcracker Ballet, Welcome to the White House). Also working with self-published authors, she has designed and illustrated five children’s picture and chapter books, winning multiple awards including the IPBA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Children’s Books (Mommy, Daddy, I Had a Bad Dream). Originally an English major, she loves the interplay of text and art on a page. You can view her work at www.jogershman.com.
Why do you like to mentor aspiring writers?
So many people have helped me along the way and I would love to pass that on. I am happy to share experience gained from over 35 years working professionally on projects including illuminated calligraphy, greeting cards, gallery paintings, gift books and children’s books both for mainstream publishers and self-published authors.
Q: What does being a successful published professional look like to you?
I believe that being a successful professional means that you always put forward your absolute best work for the project and the client even when working conditions—the pay, the client, the project itself—are not optimal. Your reputation for quality work and reliability in meeting deadlines is paramount, as is your willingness to take criticism and to make changes as directed, even when you may not agree. And through it all, you need to maintain your artistic integrity.
Q: What can a mentee expect from your mentorship?
I am happy to focus on the design and composition of either an entire dummy or portfolio illustrations. In either case, it is important to define your end goal, and then to organize your work at the outset, setting continual small realistic goals to reach that desired end. While my media of choice are watercolor and graphite, the principles of design, color, and composition remain the same across different media. Integration of text and art, construction of a dummy, technical file preparation for submission, all of these things can be covered if desired.
Q: What are you reading?
I am thoroughly enjoying Reading Magic by Mem Fox, and I am doing a quick refresher of Molly Bang’s new edition of Picture This. I have also recently become a Naomi Novik fan and just finished Spinning Silver and Uprooted.
Q: What are you working on these days?
I usually spend the summer on personal projects. I am finishing up a dummy for a story I wrote about a new kitten in the house, which I have been working on for three years in between book design & illustration projects. I am also working on a dummy for a Hanukkah story that I wrote. And, if I can squeeze it in, I have a few paintings I would love to start.