This is my first post since I migrated my old blog to Substack. I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce myself to my new subscribers and recap my creative journey so far with you all.
So…HELLO! My name is Momoko and it means “peach child” in Japanese. I’m Japanese born and bread. I came from a family of bookworms (my grandpa was a poet, my dad was a writer and my mum was a school teacher) and I grew up in a house made of book shelves. No wonder why I feel at home in bookshops…
You can find more detailed account of my journey up until my first book deal in my old post (above), but here’s the gist:
I was a child of hundred hobbies, including knitting, carpentry, baking and classic ballet. But drawing was something I just always did like breathing.
When my dream to be a professional ballet dancer didn’t panned out, my passion turned to films. At age 20, I moved to the UK to study films at university. Why not LA? I just loved British films such as Trainspotting and Billie Elliot (and any films with Hugh Grant).
I graduated with a BA and a MA, I got a job in TV & film post production. I still work in the industry to this day.
When I turned 30, I realised drawing was my true love and that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life professionally. But I didn’t know where to start or if I should.
In 2014, at age 32, I finally took a short evening course in illustration where I learned that there’s a such thing as children’s illustration/illustrators. (Don’t laugh. I grew up in a small town in the 80s. There was no World Book Day and no author/illustrator’s visit at my school.)
In the years followed, I devoured books on illustrating children’s books, and I went to talks and workshops by children’s illustrators in the evening and on weekend. The best experience was Picturecamp - a week long picture book masterclass-retreat in Spain.
In 2017, I went to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair for the first time. It was a turning point for my “style”.
In 2018, I got an agent and she got me my first book deal. I also got another book deal as a result of a meeting at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
I was shortlisted for the World Illustration Award 2019.
In 2020 (6 years after I took the first step), at age 36, I officially became a published author-illustrator with my debut picture book - Avocado Asks (Orchard). The proudest moment of my life!
So that was a rather long gist (I’m not good at keeping thing short). Since then, I published 8 books (6 picture books, 1 non-fiction, 1 poetry collection), including my second authored book - When the Sun Goes Home, and 1 book cover. I’ve done some charity projects, festivals and school visits in between. I got nominated for a few book awards and won one (whoop!). I’ve been blessed so far and I don’t deny it.
But it hasn’t been always walking in the park. I had a meltdown during the second lockdown in 2020. I lost my grandpa just before the Christmas and I was struggling to juggle my full-time job in TV and the illustration work. A sliver lining was that the episode pushed me to rethink my life-work-book work balance seriously. I finally managed to go part-time at my day job in spring 2022. Becoming a full-time author-illustrator would be my next goal. Watch this space!!
Now let me tell you the best bits of the past 9 years of my journey to get to where I am now - PEOPLE. I’m mainly self-taught. I was lonely and clueless at the beginning (I’m still is a little) so people I met along the way have been my blessing. Some of the students I met at the short evening course at the beginning of my journey have become my long-term friends and we share tables at an illustrators’ market every year. Some of the illustrators I met at the Picturecamp have also become my good friends and going to the BCBF together has become our annual pilgrimage, and we keep encouraging each other’s progress.
One of them introduced me to my now-agent. Speaking of BCBF, I met wonderful Zehra Hicks (such a force of nature!) at the fair and she introduced me to a group of equally wonderful illustrators such as Jape Porter and Fiona Woodcock. They are a well of wisdom and my go-to advisors (and they’re all just damn nice!). I met amazing Erika Meza at a publisher’s summer party and we hit it off. This year I was in a pickle but she saved the day and let me crash her hotel room in Bologna! And we had a fantastic time there and shared a lot of cheese and drinks and gelatos with many authors and illustrators!
You should check out Fiona’s new book - Silver Linings and Erika’s new book - To The Other Side. Both are fantastic!
I love the way one connection leads to another and you never know what comes out of it. As well as determination and hard work, I think that’s the key to get in and thrive in very competitive world of children’s books.
Anyway, like always, my post is getting long. I’ll end with a quick mention of what I’m up to now. I just finished my third authored book (out in April 2024, I think) and I’m currently illustrating two picture books and I'm brainstorming ideas for my fourth authored book.
Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the most important thing - I love cats. That’s it!
I’m still getting the hang of Substack so I don’t quite understand all the functions (chat? notes? what?). But if you enjoyed this newsletter or any on my Doodle Den, please spread the word. And feel free to leave comments or ask questions. Thank you!
Ah, welcome to Substack Momoko! Great to hear your story and thank you for the shout out! I also need to find out about chat and notes!?
Such a lovely read about you and finding your way, thanks for sharing. Also what a beautiful cat! 😻