Tuesday 30 May 2017

PP NYC Megatrip: Week Two!

The second week of my NYC trip has gone by in a whirlwind. Whilst the weather took a turn for the worse, I have been shooting around Manhattan from publisher to publisher, doing 4 meetings a day. I might be feeling a little tired but I’m still exhilarated!


We had such a fantastic reception to the wonderful book proposals from our author/illustrators, and all the gorgeous artwork from our talented artists, at London Book Fair and Bologna, so I was keen to see how all of our New York based publishers would respond to the work. I haven’t been disappointed! It’s been such a pleasure to once again see editors and designers alike get excited by the wonderful array of talent that we represent at Plum Pudding. I’m delighted to say that we already have new projects in the pipeline and I have had many requests to see more of both book proposals and individual artist folios. 

One of the most popular picture book proposals has been the wonderful Stinky, a hilarious story about a naughty little street kitten who eventually learns to share, by author/illustrator Rebecca Gerlings. Our most popular middle grade concept has been the gorgeously illustrated Shaggy Dog Tales, by author/illustrator Kate Pankhurst. It’s clear that publishers are extremely keen to find more characters with series potential, whatever the age range, and both of these concepts are bursting with fleshed out characters brimming with personality and longevity. Even more this year, I am finding that for picture books and middle grade, presenting a book proposal/concept is being very well received, although there is still a high demand for illustrators to be able to deliver artwork for texts that clients already have from other authors.




Whilst the majority of our meetings with publishers are all about pitching the book proposals we have worked on with our author/illustrators and illustrators, and showcasing all of their fantastic illustration work, it’s also always a pleasure to see the finished products from projects we are already working on with them too! In fact, for me, it’s one of the highlights of the trip! Chloe and I visited Sterling Books on my second week, with whom Plum Pudding has a fantastic and long established working relationship, and it was a joy to see Brendan Kearney’s artwork for author Josh Funk’s Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, framed in their reception. Josh and Brendan’s partnership is proving to be highly successfully for Sterling, with Brendan about to start work on Josh’s hilarious third book in the series!


I’ve had compliments on how talented our artists are and what a fantastic array of illustrators we represent at every meeting, and the follow up email rom Sara Corbett at Penguin Random House sums it up!

Hi Hannah,

Thank you so much for coming in and delighting Renee and I with all your dazzling artists as always!! I really love working with you on Emma’s book and I hope we can find more projects together in the near future!

Thank you again!
Sara


As well as seeing all of our artist fantastic work at the publishers I visited, I was also able to find the time to pop to Barnes and Noble, where it was a joy to see so many published books illustrated by Plum Pudding artists!


Captain Pug - written by Laura James and illustrated by Eglantine Ceulemans

Bertie Wings It - written by Leslie Gorin and illustrated by Brendan Kearney

I'll Never Let You Go - written by Smriti Prasadam-Halls, illustrated by Alison Brown

This week I will be attending Book Expo America, as well as visiting more clients at their Manhattan offices - it’s going to be a busy week but I’m excited and raring to go!
Han


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