News and Art round-up #7
“Cordelia lives in the garden now”
I found these cool watercolor brushes by Adilson Farias and am working with them wildly.
Lots has been happening! The big news is our Autillus Storytelling initiative was soft-launched. In 2022, I became the co-president of the Swiss association of children’s authors and illustrators, working with the great Jyoti Guptara, who is the president. And things have been buzzing over there. We’ve gotten some great sponsors, and have some cool projects in the pipeline. I also did the illustration for the website and branding of Storytelling Schweiz, which I’m quite proud of.
Illustration by me!
Check out the website below, and if you’re by any chance a Swiss teacher or librarian, sign up your class or group for a workshop. Also sign up for Autillus’ newsletter, if you like, to stay up to date with Swiss authors and illustrators!
I did some filming for a TV segment with SRF a few weeks ago, organized by the lovely people at my German-language publisher. Thank you, Anne and Bruno, for making it not stressful at all.
In books news, Die Letzten Hexen von Blackbird Castle seems to have found some lovely readers. Thank you so much to everyone who has picked up a copy. There have been interviews, nice print reviews, and so many kind posts on Instagram. Also, Kinderbuch Couch, a big German children’s book hub, has it as one of their best books of the year. Hurray!
Here are some bits and bobs from the internet:
Die Letzten Hexen von Blackbird Castle - Rezenzion
I also have a special reading coming up, on a boat, on the Rhine, so if you are interested in hearing me read spooky stories while surrounded by enchanting castles and green hills, here you go:
Reading - August 20th, Neuhausen, Switzerland
(There will be more readings in September, not on boats, stay tuned.)
To finish things off, here are a few more art things from the past month. I’ve been trying lots of different styles, the watercolor look, the papercut look that I posted a while ago, the chalky, pastel-textured ghost pictures, and weird combinations of all of those.
Opposite Octopi
The Haunted House
Baba Yaga in the Road
The Unpleasent Answer
Piano Ghost
And that’s all! I’m off to Croatia tomorrow, where I intend to lie in the shade, and read several good books, and never move again. I hope everyone’s having an excellent summer!