Most Illustration involves an illustrator producing
work to a prescribed commercial brief where they
are expected to stifle their contribution to form and
content, having very little input or control over their
work and its usage. The idea behind Illustration:
Authorial Practice is that students take responsibility
for developing their own ideas and material: they
author their own content.
MA Illustration: Authorial Practice is a
studio-based course focused on the development
of the authorial voice within illustration. Recent
debate has highlighted the need to reassert the
characteristics of personal origination, ownership,
storytelling and literary ideas within the discipline.
Steve Braund Course Leader
from the early 1980's Steve worked in London as a
freelance illustrator where he developed a strong interest in
narrative and sequential illustration. Represented in both the UK
and USA, his client list includes Heinemann, Puffin, Corgi, The Sunday Times,
Lloyd’s Bank, The Financial Times, Radio Times, Reader’s Digest, Mosby
and Volvo Motors. He was headhunted by University College Falmouth in 1987.
In 1994 he was invited to become a member of the Society of Illustrators
in New York. In 1998, Steve started Atlantic Press, which publishes high
quality authorial illustration books and graphic novels.
Steve states that, “Students have benefited from having a publishing
house at close quarters with the possibility to gain direct experience of
live projects. We want students to develop a very independent and enterprising
approach to their practice, and to understand not only the creative process, from
conception through to realisation, but to consider audiences and the practical ins
and outs of aspects such as, printing, marketing and distribution.”
Wednesday 19 May 2010
Questions answered for AOI
Atlantic Press
Questions answered for the AOI web-site
1.
It took several years before we realised exactly what the press wanted to be. It feels very clear now that it has emerged both as a champion of illustrators who want to author their own books, and also as a champion for popularising illustrated books designed for an adult audience. Children’s books are great, but where are the picture books for mature reader/viewers that tackle subjects in more depth (bring back Sue Coe!)? Where are the books for all ages? So we choose the best books that come out of the authorial illustration MA, as well as approaching established illustrators. For example, we are currently talking with Anna Bhushan about a possible book.
There is a massive untapped market for illustration in this area. Other countries have a richer culture for this - look at mainland European countries - the UK is way behind. There are a few great examples around over here... books by Sara Fanelli and Graham Rawle, and the more mature end of graphic novels and comics, by author/illustrators like David B, Posy Simmonds,and Chris Ware. This is largely thanks to Dan Franklin at Jonathan Cape. But there should be as big a market for adult illustrated books as there is for children. Our culture would be much richer for it and it would create a lot of employment. Illustration has failed to achieve this, aided by the mainstream commercial world who only sell what 's already selling... 'the tail wagging the dog!' Atlantic Press is attracted to publish illustrated books which fall into this category and which are of a very high quality in terms of illustration, writing and design. We don’t always get it right, but we learn as we go. Bookfairs are a real eye-opener!
We have an annual graphic literature prize for our authorial illustration MA students and we publish the winner. One book, ‘The Garden Sketchbook’, sold out in a couple of months at zinefairs and is now likely to be published in a new edition in association with Tate Publishing, who noticed it at the London Small Publishers Bokfair. The opportunity to help Paul Slater to publish his first self-authored book 'Fried Eggs in Brine' was too good to miss. The book is a real contribution to the great British nonsense genre… Lear, Carroll, Heath-Robinson, Peake, etc. Paul is a genius who deserves to be as respected as any great British artist. This book also looks likely to be published as a trade soft-back edition shortly by a large publisher. This is great because it really shows that this approach can work. We are acting as an incubator for innovative illustrator-authored books that start to attract the mainstream world of publishing. We do small editions of 500 or 1,000 copies to test the market. If more and more illustrators started to do this we could turn our culture for illustration into something much more exciting and show the public how exciting illustration can be. How can we expect them to know if they don’t get exposed to anything (unless they are enthusiastic explorers of the internet). This shift won't happen until the mainstream commercial publishers and outlets see a demand for this kind of product. Yesterday, I attended a lecture by the amazing photographer Martin Parr, someone who shows great initiaitive and has a strong personal signature in his work. He stated that he has to make his work 'entertaining' to a large audience first in order to be able to deal with serious issues that he wants to address.
2.
We are learning that the quality of ‘making’ in our books is key. Whilst books can now be printed to order via the web, this does by contrast make the more carefully considered and beautifully crafted book more desirable; ‘books that look like they want to be books’ as someone commented to me recently at Paul Gravett’s ‘Comiket’ event. Consideration for a very high standard of illustration, for good design, nice paper (recycled where possible) and good packaging are all vital. We have built up a working relationship with a local printer who are very helpful if it means standing beside the press making careful adjustments. Some elements of our books, such as a cover for a current project, are screen-printed at the college by students who are doing placements with us. But, mostly they are printed on a commercial offset litho press.
3.
It’s part of our ethos to give up control to the illustrator to make their own decisions. This way books emerge that are shot through with the illustrator’s signature. This is not always possible and we are there to make decisions where necessary and this usually ends up in a very enjoyable collaboration. The press employs a part-time assistant who does most of the layout in InDesign and we bring in specialist designers where necessary. The more self-contained we are, the cheaper it all is. We have learned a huge amount from publishers who have visited the course’s annual illustration forum including Tara Books, Fremok, Drawn & Quarterly and Cape.
4.
Atlantic Press is ten years old and is currently run by, Dean Owens, Roger Combe, Mat Osmond and myself. Most of the work is covered under staff research time though a fair amount is voluntary. We try to publish two books a year, but we are currently developing four.
5.
Atlantic Press has, since its inception, tried to publish books that match the quality of mainstream commercial production values. Even the name of the press was chosen to carry this kind of signification (the Titanic logo is an ironic signifier). This way we appear to be a ‘big’ publisher… and it works! People take us seriously and assume that we must have a big book factory somewhere. We try to produce experimental and innovative illustrated books for a mature audience which are designed and packaged so as not to cause alarm and alienate the mainstream booksellers, but rather to insert a small spanner within its works in order to make the necessary adjustments to the way it is engineered and in so doing to promote change.
6.
The press came about after many years illustrating in the commercial mainstream in London in the 80’s. Working mostly as a book-jacket illustrator with bits of advertising and editorial, I then got into teaching as well. In the 90's I met Edward Gorey’s publicist Andreas Brown, proprietor of the Gotham Book Mart in New York, and Eileen Hogan who ran the Camberwell Press. Both gave me the message to start my own publishing company. It’s no use being anti-commercial and anti-mainstream and causing confrontation. We have to work with all the many opportunities that are out there as well as generating our own work. (I consider Atlantic Press to be commercial, just a bit on the fringe). We promote and sell our books through www.atlanticpressbooks.com, by visiting the small press bookfairs and by selling our books through bookstores (word of mouth really helps too!). Recently, we attended the commercial London Bookfair at Earl's Court, where our idea of incubating innovative illustrated books looks likely to result in up to three 'conversions' into the mainstream through large new editions via three different established publishers who liked our books. So, it is possible. This also brings in revenue, as they will buy either softback rights and publish a trade edition themselves, or will buy an entire new edition that we print. The key point is to encourage more and more illustrators and collectives to publish work of high quality to show what is possible and to saturate the marketplace until it feeds into our culture to the extent that larger publishers can't ignore it's influence and popularity. If you look carefully, this is already happening (Tom Gauld, Simone Lia, Jonny Hannah, Nobrow Press, LeGun, etc). So it’s a good time to be a part of this and generate your own work, especially as commissioned work is thin on the ground.
Questions answered for the AOI web-site
1.
It took several years before we realised exactly what the press wanted to be. It feels very clear now that it has emerged both as a champion of illustrators who want to author their own books, and also as a champion for popularising illustrated books designed for an adult audience. Children’s books are great, but where are the picture books for mature reader/viewers that tackle subjects in more depth (bring back Sue Coe!)? Where are the books for all ages? So we choose the best books that come out of the authorial illustration MA, as well as approaching established illustrators. For example, we are currently talking with Anna Bhushan about a possible book.
There is a massive untapped market for illustration in this area. Other countries have a richer culture for this - look at mainland European countries - the UK is way behind. There are a few great examples around over here... books by Sara Fanelli and Graham Rawle, and the more mature end of graphic novels and comics, by author/illustrators like David B, Posy Simmonds,and Chris Ware. This is largely thanks to Dan Franklin at Jonathan Cape. But there should be as big a market for adult illustrated books as there is for children. Our culture would be much richer for it and it would create a lot of employment. Illustration has failed to achieve this, aided by the mainstream commercial world who only sell what 's already selling... 'the tail wagging the dog!' Atlantic Press is attracted to publish illustrated books which fall into this category and which are of a very high quality in terms of illustration, writing and design. We don’t always get it right, but we learn as we go. Bookfairs are a real eye-opener!
We have an annual graphic literature prize for our authorial illustration MA students and we publish the winner. One book, ‘The Garden Sketchbook’, sold out in a couple of months at zinefairs and is now likely to be published in a new edition in association with Tate Publishing, who noticed it at the London Small Publishers Bokfair. The opportunity to help Paul Slater to publish his first self-authored book 'Fried Eggs in Brine' was too good to miss. The book is a real contribution to the great British nonsense genre… Lear, Carroll, Heath-Robinson, Peake, etc. Paul is a genius who deserves to be as respected as any great British artist. This book also looks likely to be published as a trade soft-back edition shortly by a large publisher. This is great because it really shows that this approach can work. We are acting as an incubator for innovative illustrator-authored books that start to attract the mainstream world of publishing. We do small editions of 500 or 1,000 copies to test the market. If more and more illustrators started to do this we could turn our culture for illustration into something much more exciting and show the public how exciting illustration can be. How can we expect them to know if they don’t get exposed to anything (unless they are enthusiastic explorers of the internet). This shift won't happen until the mainstream commercial publishers and outlets see a demand for this kind of product. Yesterday, I attended a lecture by the amazing photographer Martin Parr, someone who shows great initiaitive and has a strong personal signature in his work. He stated that he has to make his work 'entertaining' to a large audience first in order to be able to deal with serious issues that he wants to address.
2.
We are learning that the quality of ‘making’ in our books is key. Whilst books can now be printed to order via the web, this does by contrast make the more carefully considered and beautifully crafted book more desirable; ‘books that look like they want to be books’ as someone commented to me recently at Paul Gravett’s ‘Comiket’ event. Consideration for a very high standard of illustration, for good design, nice paper (recycled where possible) and good packaging are all vital. We have built up a working relationship with a local printer who are very helpful if it means standing beside the press making careful adjustments. Some elements of our books, such as a cover for a current project, are screen-printed at the college by students who are doing placements with us. But, mostly they are printed on a commercial offset litho press.
3.
It’s part of our ethos to give up control to the illustrator to make their own decisions. This way books emerge that are shot through with the illustrator’s signature. This is not always possible and we are there to make decisions where necessary and this usually ends up in a very enjoyable collaboration. The press employs a part-time assistant who does most of the layout in InDesign and we bring in specialist designers where necessary. The more self-contained we are, the cheaper it all is. We have learned a huge amount from publishers who have visited the course’s annual illustration forum including Tara Books, Fremok, Drawn & Quarterly and Cape.
4.
Atlantic Press is ten years old and is currently run by, Dean Owens, Roger Combe, Mat Osmond and myself. Most of the work is covered under staff research time though a fair amount is voluntary. We try to publish two books a year, but we are currently developing four.
5.
Atlantic Press has, since its inception, tried to publish books that match the quality of mainstream commercial production values. Even the name of the press was chosen to carry this kind of signification (the Titanic logo is an ironic signifier). This way we appear to be a ‘big’ publisher… and it works! People take us seriously and assume that we must have a big book factory somewhere. We try to produce experimental and innovative illustrated books for a mature audience which are designed and packaged so as not to cause alarm and alienate the mainstream booksellers, but rather to insert a small spanner within its works in order to make the necessary adjustments to the way it is engineered and in so doing to promote change.
6.
The press came about after many years illustrating in the commercial mainstream in London in the 80’s. Working mostly as a book-jacket illustrator with bits of advertising and editorial, I then got into teaching as well. In the 90's I met Edward Gorey’s publicist Andreas Brown, proprietor of the Gotham Book Mart in New York, and Eileen Hogan who ran the Camberwell Press. Both gave me the message to start my own publishing company. It’s no use being anti-commercial and anti-mainstream and causing confrontation. We have to work with all the many opportunities that are out there as well as generating our own work. (I consider Atlantic Press to be commercial, just a bit on the fringe). We promote and sell our books through www.atlanticpressbooks.com, by visiting the small press bookfairs and by selling our books through bookstores (word of mouth really helps too!). Recently, we attended the commercial London Bookfair at Earl's Court, where our idea of incubating innovative illustrated books looks likely to result in up to three 'conversions' into the mainstream through large new editions via three different established publishers who liked our books. So, it is possible. This also brings in revenue, as they will buy either softback rights and publish a trade edition themselves, or will buy an entire new edition that we print. The key point is to encourage more and more illustrators and collectives to publish work of high quality to show what is possible and to saturate the marketplace until it feeds into our culture to the extent that larger publishers can't ignore it's influence and popularity. If you look carefully, this is already happening (Tom Gauld, Simone Lia, Jonny Hannah, Nobrow Press, LeGun, etc). So it’s a good time to be a part of this and generate your own work, especially as commissioned work is thin on the ground.
Friday 14 May 2010
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