How do you pick the illustrator for your picture books?
I don’t pick the illustrator for my books. The publisher does. They may ask for my opinion about the work of illustrators they’re considering, but the decision is ultimately up to them.
What if you don’t like the pictures?
I’ve been lucky to have illustrators who have brought wonderful visual ideas to the books, ideas that I would never have thought of.
I’ve also had the chance to see rough illustrations and have sometimes suggested changes that the illustrator was usually only too happy to make. Not all publishers give a writer this opportunity.
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Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best, the award-winning The Man with the Violin, and the GG shortlisted The Rock and the Butterfly. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She has enjoyed the privilege of meeting with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. Currently president of CANSCAIP (the Canadian Society of Authors, Illustrators, and Performers), Kathy lives in a small town in southern Ontario.
