Shop Talk

Articles | Acceptance Speeches | Audio

Taken as a whole, the articles gathered here on the art and craft of writing and illustrating resist easy characterization. Some are highly practical, some are meditative, some are just downright silly, but all make rewarding reading. The acceptance speeches presented at the annual Boston Globe-Horn Book Award ceremonies offer insiders' tours through the makings of exceptional books.

Articles

Tell Me Lies by Sara Pennypacker (March/April 2008)
When editorial honesty isn't always the best policy

Fueling the Dream Spirit by Elizabeth Partridge (January/February 2008)
Using principles of Chinese medicine to explain creative expression

Roger Sutton interviews Philip Pullman (web only)
Transcript of December 2007 podcast interview

Fantasy Writers (and an Editor) Speak Out (November/December 2007)
On epic fantasies

My Search for the Wrong Title by Michael J. Rosen (July/August 2007)
Striking out at the old ball game

Stars by Roger Sutton (September/October 2006)
An insider's look at all that glitters.

Working with Fear by Nancy Werlin (September/October 2006)
Writing good books about bad people.

Mostly by Brian Doyle (July/August 2006)
Respecting the natural intelligence of children.

Digging for Home by George Ella Lyon (May/June 2006)
A picture book writer turns singer/songwriter

To Be Continued . . .  by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (January/February 2006)
Why the novelist writes series.

Up the Down Staircase: Where Snoop and Shakespeare Meet by Janet McDonald (November/December 2005)
Why the novelist goes uptown with the classics.

Wishful Thinking by Sarah Ellis (September/October 2005)
Why the acclaimed children’s writer is rethinking the company she keeps.

On the Cover: The Carrot Seed by Maurice Sendak (March/April 2005)
Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss remembered by an adopted son (or sorts).

Marc Simont's Sketchbooks: The Art Academy Years: 1935–1938 by Leonard S. Marcus and Marc Simont (March/April 2004)
Portraits (and other doodles) by the artist as a young man.

Narrative and Violence by Jennifer Armstrong (March/April 2003)
The value of literature in dangerous times.

Where Ideas Really Come From by Tim Wynne-Jones (September/October 2002)
The contributions of Amish bowlers and other inspirations.

Astonishing George by Mary Pope Osborne (November/December 2002)
An admirer of George Washington wants to know what he would think of her.

Diagnosis, Please by Katherine Paterson (November/December 2002)
The author of Jip, His Story wonders what ails her character and his historical counterpart?

Tolerance Is Not Enough by Suzanne Fisher Staples (November/December 2001)
Lessons learned as a journalist covering the Soviet-Afghan war in 1981.

Journeys of the Spirit by Betsy Hearne (November/December 2001)
Should young readers have a strictly secular literary diet?

Blood from a Stone by Jennifer Armstrong (September/October 2000)
How one writer paves her pathway to art.
     Nancy Werlin responds
     Jane Yolen responds

Barbara Cooney by Barbara Bader (September/October 2000)
An appreciation of the late artist.

The Newest Medium: Illustrating with Save and Undo by Lolly Robinson (November/December 2000)
How computers are changing artists, and how they aren't.

Eight Ways to Say You: The Challenges of Translation by Cathy Hirano (January/February 1999)
The balancing acts of a Japanese-to-English translator.

Gotterdammerund or Bust by Philip Pullman (January/February 1999)
In trilogy writing, the third time's the charm.

Making Picture Books: The Pictures by Barbara Cooney (March/April 1998)
A picture book master recalls her different artistic techniques.

Studio views from seven artists (March/April 1998)
    • Family Albums by Margaret Miller
    • My Next Medium by Chris Raschka
    • The Sculptural Quality by Arthur Geisert
    • Pulp Painting by Denise Fleming
    • Tiny Pieces of Paint by Peter Sis
    • Ticonderoga #2 by Donald Crews
    • Sharpie Markers to the Rescue by Lynn Reiser

Design Matters by Jon Scieszka, designed by Molly Leach (March/April 1998)
How ugly duck prose gets transformed by good design.

"How Do I Get My Book Reviewed (Nicely)?" by Roger Sutton (web 1998)
The Horn Book's Editor offers handy tips about reviewers.

Illustrating Mama Bear by Lolly Robinson (web 1998)
Step-by-step through the publishing process with a new illustrator.

Four writers on family reading (March/April 1997)
    • "Luckily" by Peter Sis
    • "Have a carrot" by Cynthia Voigt
    • "Again" by Kevin Henkes
    • "Look" by Lois Lowry

Reader's Request, or, YOU ASKED FOR IT by Jon Scieszka (November/December 1996)
A handy guide to pronouncing tough names, like the author's.

Making Stories Happen by Rachel Vail (May/June 1994)
How the author makes up things until they are true.

Short Talk with a Prospective Children's Writer by Astrid Lindgren (June 1973)
Tart advice from the creator of Pippi Longstocking.

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award speeches

Audio

Podcasts
         M. T. Anderson
         Lee Kingman & Virginia Lee Burton
         Grace Lin & Alvina Ling
         Lois Lowry
         Catherine Gilbert Murdock
         Philip Pullman
        Jon Scieszka

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award acceptance speeches
         M. T. Anderson (2007)
         David Almond (2004)
         Nicolas Debon (2007)
         Kate DiCamillo (2006)
         Lois Ehlert (2006)
         Mordicai Gerstein (2004)
         Mini Grey (2005)
         Phillip Hoose (2005)
         Steven Kellogg (2006)
         Jim Murphy (2004)
         Neal Schusterman (2005)
         Laura Vaccaro Seeger (2007)

Horn Book Radio Review interviews with Anita Silvey (1986)
         Robert McCloskey
         James Marshall
         Uri Shulevitz
         Rosemary Wells