A few weeks ago, I attended the largest children’s book fair in the world in Bologna, Italy. Having read and heard about it for a long time, I tried to go there with little expectations and let it happen as naturally as possible. Bologna, Italy The first thing that was amazing is that you are in a medieval Italian town surrounded by centuries old buildings, amazing food and a beautiful foreign language. We loved strolling under the hundreds of archways and on pedestrian cobblestone streets....

The biggest children’s book fair in the world is happening every year in Bologna, Italy. A few hours away from where I am currently staying so I have decided to go, likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don’t think I would fly across half the planet to go there (New Zealand is 18,000km away from Italy). But because I am nearby, I have decided to go and make the most of it. I am going to meet fellow authors and illustrators, catchup with publishers, mingle with other people and enjoy the...

In my previous article, I described how I went from a script to a clear storyboard to send to the publisher for their feedback and comments. There are always a few of them and I am grateful that for their time to review and comment on my layouts, page turns, character consistency, etc. They have been really good at spotting the lack of freckles on one of my protagonist. It made me realize how important initial character design is for a comic book series with four 120-150 pages volumes. It is...