Introduction from MEET CANADIAN AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS
by Allison Gertridge
|
Here we go again! There are many new faces in this revised edition, and I have again just managed to scratch the surface of who's who in kids' books today. I hope, however, that you will find this to be a rich sampling of what's great about Canadian books for kids.
It's been seven years since the first edition of Meet Canadian Authors and Illustrators was published, and since then a great deal is new in the world of children's book publishing. Computer technology has changed everything, from typesetting to design, from printing to distribution. Interestingly enough, though, technology has done little to change the fundamental ways that authors write and that illustrators illustrate.
Most of the authors and illustrators I've interviewed, in fact, consider their computers as a kind of high-tech pencil — it's excellent for editing and reworking, but really hasn't changed the writing process much. Ideas are still collected, considered and developed in much the same way as they have always been. Artists, too, still tend to use the old-standy sketchbooks and library picture files — along with Internet research — when collecting reference material.
Another thing that hasn't changed since the first edition is the advice that the authors and illustrators in this book have for young writers and artists: If you want to be an author, read and write. If you want to be an illustrator, observe and draw.
I hope this collecion will not only inspire people to explore the quality books created by this country's greatest talents, but also provide them with practical activities for sharpening their own skills as writers and illustrators. Enjoy!
From Meet Canadian Authors and Illustrators. Copyright © 1994, 2002 by Allison Gertridge.
|
|
