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CATugeau agency is very honored and pleased to announce the addition of our FIRST PHOTOGRAPHER ARTIST, Christopher Loren Ewers. Chris is a very narrative, provocative photographer experienced with other commercial markets and cinematography, and we hope he will be embraced by the YA market hungry for new and memorable looks.  Please enjoy a sample of his lovely work…. and see more at www.catugeau.com.  WELCOME CHRIS!

How perfect that award-winning children’s book artist Terry Widener has done the pictures for the new picture book by Jonah Winter (just released by Schwartz and Wade) about the greatest all around baseball player ever – Willie Mays. Terry brings a background of high level advertising and editorial illustration and something else to the many [...]

OH the question!  and topic of the panel I was part of at the Winter SCBWI Art Intensive on Feb. 1.  David Diaz moderated Jan Constantine, Author’s Guild, Brenda Bowen, now Lit (and art) rep at Sanford Greenburger Associates and myself in a series of questions about the reality of the biz we all love.  Of course being PART of the panel….I have no memory of what we actually said!!!!…so maybe you all who were there can write crits about us in ‘comments!’  LOL.

“Though a living cannot be made at art, art makes life worth living…. it brings LIFE to life.”  this is a quote from fine artist and illustrator John Sloan that I used in the panel.  He was actually talking about FINE ART here as he DID make most of his living with illustration, and so can you…it IS commercial.  But as we talked about it is quite hard in the children’s publishing market itself.  Possible…but hard, even when you are repped.  The assignments come oddly timed…one year you are turning down work, and the next twiddling your thumbs! (hopefully actually practicing practicing and growing.)  One really must diversify into various areas of the arts, and maybe have a ‘day job.’  Try to find one that is involved with art of course so it FEEDS you.  But financial insecurity can work actively against the ‘expression’ and good choices you DO need to make to make a career in this industry, like most industries!  It IS a business was an all over theme.

A couple of points that were mentioned was about Your First Impression… you only get one of those with publishers.  It’s a small market – long memories.  Another was that too high advances CAN actually hurt your career if the sales records aren’t good for the books…. not earning out.  Do consider this when negotiating.  Ask questions when reading contracts! Team playing is ever so important if you want to be part of an agency…what YOU do professionally does reflect on every other artist/writer in the group! Staying Fresh and updated with your samples is very important…work to make new and promote them often to AD’s and editors. Consistency of style is also VERY important. Be Brutally Honest with yourself when considering giving up your day job…have a five-year business plan of action.

I do hope we get some ‘comments’ as I’m curious about what ‘spoke’ to you all there too!  REMINDER:  order your THE BOOK from SCBWI….the guide to it ALL!  and I wrote/revised the Artist Guide part of it again.  Hope you find it helpful!

this visual of the ‘rep me’ is from my son and artist Jeremy Tugeau, and husband to rep Nicole Tugeau of Tugeau2….check her agency out as well!

I am most honored to be part of the Friday Feb. 1st Artist Intensive for the SCBWI Winter Conference (Grand Hyatt 42nd) this coming weekend!  Our panel discussion is “WHEN DO I QUITE MY DAY JOB?” and I’m looking forward to the subject and opportunity to share the basics (and not so basic) to the business of being an Illustrator.  Brenda Bowen (editor, now Lit Agent, and writer) and Jan Constantine (general counsel for The Authors Guild) and I (20 year artist agent) will be moderated by David Diaz.

The SCBWI conferences are always so very inspirational and done so professionally and with such care for the market and those who participate in it, that it’s always a joy to be part of and/or attend.  I’ll also be one of the judges for the Art Show which is a wonderful part of these events.  Sat. and Sun are full of other talks and sessions for writers and illustrators (or both) and an almost overwhelming opportunity to get an ‘insiders’ look at the children’s book industry. And you meet and chat with so many interesting people!

If you are planning to be there, please make yourself known to me.  And if not this year, do try to attend in LA,CA (Aug.) or NYC (Feb) at some point…invaluable!  See you there!

(“CAT”artist Melissa Iwai’s got the right idea about books!)

I like to start a new year by going over the ‘visiting notes’ I take while showing off my portfolio of 30+ artists at publishing houses during the previous year.  Great reminders of who liked whom, and I usually find tons of industry ‘insider’ comments that help me focus for the new year.  So I thought I’d share some with you this Jan. … not in any order, and without credits to ‘protect the innocent’, but here you go!

“You can only debut once!”      or first impressions might be the last impressions!  This goes for portfolio presentation, but also for your working experience with a client…don’t blow it!

“more idiosyncratic, quirky characters!”

“one look at the character and you know you want to go for the whole ride….”

“style consistency SO important…”

“crisp edges”

“writers (artist/writers) often mistake a good TOPIC for a good STORY.”

“no Quiet picture books….”   ” need apparent hook…”

“Go for the ‘Promotional Moment’ “    holiday, events, seasons etc.

“ Too high advances can end up being PLANNED FAILURE!”  a book doesn’t earn out the advance and it’s a black mark on your lasting record.  (ie…career management)

“Core Standard (educational) will be more Non Fiction going forward.”

“Passion is not the same as stamina“…. don’t overl-book yourself each year!

happy creating!                                                                   image from Jason Wolff

WOW….with FRANKENSTORM SANDY just almost leaving the WHOLE east coast, it is certainly the oddest holiday yet!  and a bit hard to laugh and play for many.  But laugh and play we MUST!  and the artists of the CATugeau LLC agency will do our part!  enjoy……

There is nothing like starting a manuscript (or a book) and getting hooked on the first page (or first few pages). Sure, the whole rest of the manuscript better live up to the beginning but there's nothing more exciting than being drawn in immediately.

Fortunately, there are tons of ways for this to happen:

• Dynamic characters - I don't mean that they do something on the first page. They can, but they can also just be fascinating people, and be showing just how fascinating they are on that first page.
• Unexpected plot twist - This is hard to do in only a page, but I've seen it done. One of my favorite books, The Amulet of Samarkand, does exactly this.
• Strong voice - Obviously the voice of your work always matters, but it really makes a difference in that very beginning when you are trying to get someone hooked.
• A really great idea - If you're world is truly unique or your book has some sort of really fantastic conceit, why not try to work it into the very beginning? (Unless of course it later acts as a surprise twist.)
• In medias res - Ah, high school English terms. However, starting in the middle of things can be exciting, and it can be a great way to get the story started.

© Copyright 2006-2011 Madeline Smoot. All rights reserved. May be excerpted and duplicated for educational purposes.

We just learned that First Peas to the Table illustrated by our Nicole Tadgell and published by Albert Whitman is a winner of the Learning Magazine 2013 Teacher’s Choice Awards for Children’s Books!  This is a first time for Albert Whitman…and our girl got them there! We’re so proud….

I’m delighted to LAUNCH a wonderful new book from Knopf/RandomHouse illustsrated by Patrice Barton… I LIKE OLD CLOTHES….and originally written by Mary Ann Hoberman many years ago.  It’s just a treasure as the reviews below will confirm.  Patty has been particularly creative in her clever use of fabric to further bring the reality of these wonderful old clothes to life for this unnamed happy treasure hunter.  Enjoy!

Kirkus:

Hand-me-downs gain new poetic life in this charming picture-book remake.

Originally published with illustrations by Jacqueline Chwast, here Hoberman’s 1976 poem gets a makeover courtesy of illustrator Barton. Kirkus panned the original for attempting too much with too little, finding Hoberman’s “silly rhyme” as threadbare as its theme of recycled clothing and Chwast’s “overpopulated pictures” teeming with a “freakish cast.” Thankfully, the Barton edition coheres much better. While Hoberman’s thematic insistence on the delight to be found in imagining the prior ownership of secondhand clothes is a little heavy-handed, her verse comes across as playful and light: “I like old clothes. / I really do. / Clothes with a history, / Clothes with a mystery, // Sweaters and shirts / That are brother-and-sistery….” Barton’s digitally rendered mixed-media illustrations capture well the warmth of Hoberman’s message, using wispy lines and softly accented shading to imbue these garments with such life that they actually seem capable of some determinism in their hand-me-down trajectory. Particularly effective is the final spread, in which a clothesline strung between windows displays many of the “Now-for-play clothes” featured earlier, giving the poet’s concept of a garment’s past and future a smartly literal linearity.

With Barton’s nuanced illustrations, Hoberman’s 36-year-old hand-me-down poem defines sustainability for the next generation. (Picture book. 3-7)

Publisher’s Weekly:

“I like old clothes,/ Hand-me-down clothes,/ Worn outgrown clothes,/ Not my own clothes.” Former U.S. children’s poet laureate Hoberman’s poem, first published in 1976, holds up nicely; families are still trading bags of too-small clothes, and children are still enjoying hand-me-downs (“And party dresses/ Not quite new,/ Not quite in style,/ I like them, too”). Barton’s (Mine!) spreads couldn’t be any warmer or fuzzier. Her mixed-media scenes incorporate images of patterned fabrics for the clothes, and soft pencil lines and blurry edges give the artwork a painted feel. A girl in overalls and sneakers—just the sort of girl one might imagine having a sensible attitude toward secondhand apparel—is pictured in her room with her younger brother, trying on a small marching band uniform (first spotted in a store window on the title page) and vamping in a pair of long black gloves. The poem stays in one register, exploring the theme from several angles, without any real narrative arc; it’s written more just for the joy of the rhymes and the rhythm. Ages 5–8. Agent: Christina A. Tugeau, CATugeau. 

School Library Journal

«HOBERMAN, Mary Ann. I Like Old Clothes. illus. by Patrice Barton. 32p. CIP. Knopf. Aug. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86951-8; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96951-5. LC 2010038292.

PreS-Gr 1–Hoberman’s 1976 picture book is dressed up with new illustrations. A precocious unnamed girl describes her love of vintage apparel: “I like old clothes./I really do./Clothes with a history,/Clothes with a mystery.” With rhymes that are never too sweet, the girl says how she likes to imagine who wore the items before her and how, and then make them her own through embellishments or just through use (such as wearing formerly dressy pants to play hopscotch). The imaginative child’s enthusiasm is infectious–kids might well be inspired to ask for secondhand outfits themselves. The clever, humorous illustrations show the smiling, red-haired girl modeling arm-length buttoned-up gloves, sewing a too-long yellow dress, or imagining the former owner of a school-uniform sweater. Barton uses fabriclike backgrounds in most of the illustrations (which were created with pencil, mixed media, and assembled and painted digitally), making the backdrop to the whole book look like beautifully faded fabric swatches. The overall effect is a visual celebration of old clothes.–Heather Talty, formerly at Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, New York City

Last year during a NYC visit, I was visiting a certain Penguin Group AD (hi! Cecelia)  and she gave me a wonderful HINT about her take on viewing art and artists’ work…and I think it applies to writing too.  It’s stayed with me, and because I find I practice the same rule, I felt I should finally share it with you.

THE 10 MIN. RULE:  if the work generally doesn’t HIT me in less than 10 minutes, I move on. Done (often less!)

It’s true…. we see a LOT of art, and often we agents, ADs and designers and editors are artists ourselves.  We see a LOT of art over a LOT of years.  Sure, we filter through our own likes and dislikes, but we do keep an open-eyed ‘ overview’ for the market and it’s needs at any given time.  We make mistakes, but we make decisions fast.  Have to!

So what can you take from this?   WOW US!  start out GREAT and build from there!  Make the first piece (or paragraph) a winner and then must keep following it up with your best characters, your best drawing, your best color, your best expressions, your best action, your BEST!….. and UNlike everyone else’s BEST.                 10 minute rule rules!

so look in the mirror often and be honest about what you see…. your best?  and from my CAT artist and son Jeremy Tugeau, as a reminder= ’ mirror, mirror, on the wall’…’

We are very happy and proud to announce today is the official LAUNCH of HUSH LITTLE MONSTER from CAT artists Melissa Iwai, and her writer husband Denis Markell, and Little Simon (S&S) as publisher!  They’ve done a couple of books together and this one is such fun!  It received a recent STARRED review in PW too!  The story is great for Halloween, but it’s not JUST for that holiday…. we have ‘little monsters’ all year long.  Do take a fun look….

Oddly, we often find in hindsight that a ‘bad,’ or difficult situation can bring out a new or creative push that ultimately becomes very much a “good.”  Actually a GIFT.

The book that doesn’t work out…and leaves you a summer to explore new ways of painting that later leads to several new books.  The visit trip from hell in cold winter rains where you show up drenched and miserable but get a standing salute for showing up at all, and it’s memorable!  The agent that rejects your work for the agency but has one golden ‘tid bit’ that resonates and sets you on YOUR path.

I had such an experience recently, which is why my blog has been silent for a bit.  Back story:  I’d been asked to co host an Artist Intensive day for the FL SCBWI group in Orlando June 15th.  It was FABULOUS!, My buddy in this was the so talented, knowledgable and enthusiastic Laurent Linn, a S&S art director. (see photo below!)  The group there is a very talented bunch of workers and we couldn’t have had a better time hopefully helping them along their individual paths.  And the Disney Yacht Club was a bit of cool breeze paradise while there.  Perfect!  except I also picked up a bacterial lung infection that lead to over a month of pain, breathing and infection scares and serious recoup after probably two pneumonias with Asthmatic complications.  I’m getting there now, and seeing the GOOD in the BAD again, so wanted to share.  One night in hospital when there was no sleep to be found between horrific coughing bouts, I suddenly saw a “story” actually POP out of my  head!  and grabbed a pen and paper and wrote out the text for 15 spreads of a draft in one flourish! (ok, high level of steroids might have contributed!)  And notes and characters for the illustrations! It was amazing, and after  it was down on paper I actually did sleep a couple of hours.  It was a story I’d been mulling sort of.  I’m no picture book writer, and while an artist, not an illustrator.  I SO admire my group and what they can do!  So we’ll see if anything comes of it.  But the FACT of it was so GOOD!

My point of course is to ALLOW these good moments to ‘free up’ in all your extraordinary, or ordinary, other moments.  A lot of it is just being available for the inspiration to arrive. And we often just aren’t.  My situation was unique (and I do NOT recommend it!) but something exciting might have been allowed to begin there that might never have otherwise.  Good.  I may not be able to pull this together to present officially to the industry, but it will happen as a personal project.  I am pushed to give it a try. How can I not?

How can YOU not!