Editing picture books for children is a uniquely creative undertaking. Children’s book editors need to understand how words and pictures work together to tell a story, so they must possess not only a facility for language but also an appreciation for illustration and a keen eye for design.
This seminar will introduce you to some of the special skills needed to edit picture books, with a particular focus on the relationship between the editor and the illustrator. We’ll take a close look at the process of creating these types of children’s books, from concept to illustration roughs to final layouts. How does this work differ from other types of editing? What kind of feedback should the editor offer the illustrator? What roles do type, layout, and other design choices play? How do you know where the page breaks go, and how can those decisions support the storytelling?
In this seminar, you’ll get a thorough overview of this unique area of book publishing.
Janice Weaver has worked as a book editor for twenty years, both freelance and in-house, and she teaches a class in editing text for younger readers in the publishing program at Ryerson University. She’s also the author of eight non-fiction books for children and has won or been nominated for numerous awards and honours, including the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch and Red Maple Awards, the California Reading Association’s Eureka Children’s Book Award, and the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Non-fiction for Children.
Saturday, February 11, 2017
9 AM to 12 PM
Registration – $115 members, $140 non-members (HST extra)
Early registration (to January 30) – $100 members, $120 non-members (HST extra)
Victoria College, Victoria University, University of Toronto
91 Charles St. West
BoldFace 