Brian Selznick broke open the novel form with his innovative and genre-breaking books creating an entirely new reading experience. He is the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of the #1 New York Times best sellers The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning movie Hugo; and Wonderstruck, adapted into the eponymous movie by celebrated filmmaker Todd Haynes, with a screenplay by Selznick; as well as the New York Times best sellers The Marvels and Baby Monkey, Private Eye, co-written by David Serlin. Most recently, he illustrated the 20th anniversary paperback edition covers of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. His books have garnered countless accolades worldwide, and have been translated into more than 35 languages. Selznick's latest novel is Kaleidoscope, a multi-layered story about love and loss told over the course of twenty-four chapters, each featuring an iconic black and white graphite illustration.
What an exciting way to start off the 2022 Winter Conference - with Brian Selznick!
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| What is this? Brian tells us it's not an apple. It's a picture of an apple. (Brian Selznick at bottom right, ASL Interpreter Brian Truitt top right.) |
Do you write the word "apple" or do you illustrate it? Citing wisdom from one of Chip Kidd's TED talks, Brian tells us "don't do both." (Doing both means you don't trust your audience.)
Brian shares that the title of this talk, "Everything Changes, Nothing Ends" is from Ovid's Metamorphosis, and is the epigram of his book Kaleidoscope.
Just a few resonant quotes from Brian's talk:
"As story makers, as book makers, we are always talking to the future." —Brian Selznick
and
"The act of turning the page makes a book a machine." —Brian Selznick
and
"Figuring out what to draw is important. Equally import is figuring out what not to draw." —Brian Selznick
and on writing a book about silent French cinema (The Invention of Hugo Cabret), whose success was a "wondrous" surprise:
"I know it's important to pursue what it is you love...what you feel is important." –Brian Selznick
Among the amazing photos and illustrations shared is this interior view of Brian's studio when finishing one of his books!
And this illustration from Kaleidoscope:
Brian discusses the evolution of his creative process during the pandemic, inspiration he pulled from books including Fortunately by Remy Charlip, and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, and so much more...
What a storyteller!
Was this session open to the public? If so, is it possible to share the video with an artist friend? If so, how do I make that happen? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking, purplepreacher. The recording is just for SCBWI members who registered for the conference. I agree it was brilliant! Stay safe,
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