Recap - August 2023

My golden rule, special anniversary and vultures

Summer holiday season is coming to an end and it seems the UK are heading to Autumn without having proper Summer… August was mainly wet and chilly…but it actually made me sort of less guilty about staying home and work on my books.

This month I employed my golden rule quite a few times and I’m really glad I did. The golden rule is…NEVER REPLY TO YOUR PUBLISHER STRAIGHTAWAY (unless it’s urgent). One thing you need to know about me is that I’m really bad at receiving feedbacks.

Early this month I received an email from one of my publishers. It contained tens of thousands (OK, not that many actually) of comments from the author of the book I was illustrating. As I went through the list, I experienced a range of emotions, then I drafted a reply to my editor in storming rage. I basically wrote something like “I wouldn’t tell them how to write so they should stay in their lane too!” (or along those lines).

Luckily, I didn’t send it. My trick to avoid burning down bridges is to draft my reply in a separate, unaddressed email or notepad so there’s no danger to accidentally hit “send” when it’s still infused with anger. Then I leave it for a day or two and revise it before actually sending it off. After a couple of calm(er) email exchanges, our misunderstanding was cleared and the project was back on track.

A similar thing happened with another project a few weeks later. I nearly wrote back “You don’t understand me! I quit!” but I calmed down after a few hours and I didn’t quit. Then, I received some more emails that made me want to throw something at a wall. The golden rule… The golden rule… The golden rule…

author

Steven Lenton on Instagram: “A HUGE thank you to everyone who came along and had fun at the children’s publishing picnic! The hashtag for you to share your photos and videos is #kidlitpicnic 🥳 Same time next year guys 😍”

August 30, 2023

August wasn’t just work and shouting into a pillow though. One of the highlights was the children’s publishing picnic organised by Steve Lenton. It’s only its second year but it felt like a tradition already. It was a lovely afternoon that I got to chat with people of every walks of children’s publishing. But I didn’t have a chance to say hi to everyone. I missed quite a few people including the host! Ouch…

I saw…

Tsukiji Reimagined by Jake Tilson at White Conduit Project
Jake Tilson created various sized sculptures inspired by the famous Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. His sculptures ornate with characterful Japanese typography and everyday objects managed to evoke the chaotic energy of the market and strong nostalgia in me. Also, these highly detailed and playful artwork reminded me of Wes Anderson films (Isle of Dogs in particular).

Young Artists’ Summer Show at Royal Academy of Arts
This exhibition showcased the 478 artworks by students aged 4–19 across the UK. The young minds were free from boring logics and reasoning and the thoughts behind their creations were bonkers in a cool way. It was quite inspiring. However, one of the artwork bothered me. Its caption read the artwork was “inspired by [a picture book by a famous illustrator]” but it was more like ‘copied from’… At least, kudos to the illustrator whose distinctive style still shone through even though it was traced by 8 years-olds. Anyway, this episode led me to examine things that had influenced me and my own work.

Influenced - Childhood Favourites

I drew…

Vultures! I went to a wild-life drawing class organised by London Wildlife Trust. Our models were Maeve the hooded vulture and Arthur the turkey vulture. It was tricky to draw models who couldn’t sit still and birds were nothing like human bodies I’m accustomed to draw. But I got to learn about the fascinating animal and the charity and conservation. Who knew vultures could be so sweet and affectionate! (Maeve kept nuzzling and pecking her handler and asking for neck scratches.) If you’re passionate about animal welfare, I highly recommend to check out their future events.

Lastly, I had a very personal anniversary this month. 20 years ago, I left my home for the first time in my life to study in the UK, then I stayed ever since. (OK, technically it's not true. I went back to Japan for 9 months in 2006 but I hated the period so much that I deleted from my memory.)

I remember I was so excited about living abroad up until the moment I said 行ってきます (I'm going) to my mum at the airport. I was suddenly washed over by fear and I cried. But I put my big girl pants on and got on the plane.

I often wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't got on the plane. Quite different, I'm sure. A husband, kids and an house with a garden, perhaps? But, I’ve been to four continents/15 counties; I’ve met amazing people and I have friends across the world; I met love of my life, Clementine; and there are books with my name on in bookshops in multiple countries. I wouldn’t trade this with another life.

My BA & MA in films, Clementine, Picturecamp, my ILR visa, my first Bologna fair, my first book.

Anyway, I'm 40 now, which means I have lived in the UK longer than I have in Japan. Apart from being far away from my family and home, the hardest thing in living in two countries is the uneasy feeling of not belonging to either places. However, after a while I learned to embrace that, and it inspired me to write my debut picture book, Avocado Asks, a story about an avocado in identity crisis.

So what’s next? Who knows? I came here to study films but now I’m making picture books instead. I’ll just wait and see where and who I will be in next 20 years.

Momoko x