Issue No.
13376
The book market for kids has grown by leaps and bounds
‘Ο Πέτρος και ο Λύκος' from Kostas Poulos’ reinterpretation of Peter and the Wolf
‘Δυο πράσινα μάτια και δυο φτερά στη πλάτη’ from Chara Yiannakopoulou’s book 12 Gifts for Christmas
‘Το Αστερόπαιδο’ from Rena Rossi Zairi’s reinterpretation of The Star-Child
IF YOU’VE ever wondered why children’s books seem to be taking up more and more shelf space in bookshops everywhere, the 3rd Children’s and Young Adults Book Fair, held on January 29-February 1 at Helexpo in Marousi, was the perfect place to pop the question: Do children really read that much?
“In the past five to six years the children’s books market has grown by leaps and bounds,” said Nopi Hatzigeorgiou, from the National Book Centre of Greece (EKEBI). “One reason that immediately springs to mind is that both education professionals and young parents have really turned to literature to teach their children the facts of life.”
Boasting a robust 75 participants, expo organisers EKEBI say the number of active publishers is in the neighbourhood of 100. And the statistical data are impressive.
Of all books sold nationwide, more than one in five is kiddie fiction. In 2008, the most recent data available, 2,100 children’s books were published, an increase of 289 over the previous year. One way to explain this unique literary phenomenon would be Greece’s low level of scientific publishing, which basically allows kiddie lit to make up a bigger slice of the pie.
And though we are essentially talking about a market defined by adults (children have no buying power), your offspring still gets the final say.
“No matter what kind of books you bring home, your choices are eventually filtered through your kids depending on the interest - or lack thereof - they show in what you’ve bought for them,” Hatzigeorgiou said.
On the other side of the publishing fence, retailers have a different perspective.
On the other side of the publishing fence, retailers have a somewhat different perspective.
“It’s not the kids who do the reading, it’s the parents who read to them. It’s good entertainment,” says an amused Stavros Athanasiades, director of P. Kyriakides Publications. “Pre-school books are a cross between toys and literature - there’s some you can even take to the bathtub with you!”
As far as trends are concerned, guess what? There aren’t any!
“Children’s books is the one section that is currently on the rise. All of them do well. There are no specific trends. They all sell, from toy books to teen literature,”
Educational value aside, books are a major communication tool, as they allow parents to get to know their kids better.
Besides, reading stories is the perfect way to get them to sleep. What more can you ask?
Go ahead, see if I care
IF I LEARNED one thing from having a children’s book put on the Greek market, it’s that the only way to get yourself published is to throw your hands up in the air as if you just didn’t care.
Although 21 percent of all books sold in Greece are for children, becoming a published kiddie book author is no easy feat. Though circumstances may have well progressed since my foray into the publishing jungle four years ago, I don’t believe things have improved enough for me to want to have another go.
Having no connections in the publishing world is of no help. Any sane person would tell you that professional relationships evolve after you actually enter your field of choice. But in authorship’s case, if you want to be taken seriously you need to have contacts in place before you even think about writing a book. Your work alone will get you nowhere, or at least nowhere you want to go.
Lost in time
In my case it landed me in some dusty old attic somewhere in Exarcheia, begging an equally dusty old man for a guide to local publishers. You’d think that securing a book listing all functioning publishing houses in the country would simply involve you walking into a bookstore and asking for one. Well, you’d be wrong. Four years ago it involved some serious Holy Grail strategics on my part because the much-coveted book appeared to have all but disappeared from the market.
Having abandoned my dignity somewhere between the first and the hundredth person I had asked for help (and not gotten any), I decided I was going to go it alone. First off, I ran up my phone bill calling every company in the directory to find out if they published children’s fiction. After some serious detective work, I proceeded to send the fruit of my literary labour to every name on my list before I took off for South America. That’s where the not caring part kicked in.
It didn’t really matter if no one took the time to get back to me because I wasn’t around to pay attention. Every time I returned to Greece I’d post a few more copies to some God-forsaken publishing house and take off for another six months. Know what? It worked.
A year later (did I mention the long wait, during which you have to just not care?), I got a phone call. This lady absolutely loved my story and just had to meet me.
As it turned out, the only reason she wanted to meet me was to tell me she didn’t really like my story and could I please write another? As I was already past caring about my dignity, I indulged her with a series of half-finished stories, until one day we had a winner.
Now what?
And then nothing. The nice lady had apparently decided to abandon her current position and start a publishing house of her own, which meant I had to wait until she was good and ready.
Not caring was really critical at that point. I had already taken several jobs in-between, changed addresses and finally taken off to Spain to do a master’s degree. And that’s when my book came out.
Only I didn’t care any more. Neither did I care when the nice lady announced that my book had won an illustration award and could I please come in to pick up my first payment.
I blame myself for not showing the appropriate enthusiasm because she hasn’t paid me a dime since. In fact, her company has been sold to somebody else and she’s not answering my calls.
But you know what? I don’t really give a rat’s behind. I was just calling to say hello.
In living colour
WORLD-CLASS illustrator Vassilis Papatsarouchas is one of the main reasons I went to the 3rd Children’s and Young Adults Book Fair, which took place on January 29-February 1 at Helexpo in Marousi.My attention temporarily wandered when I bumped into accomplished children’s artist Olivier Tallec, of France, one of the biggest children’s books markets in the world, but I eventually got them both to talk about the biz, the art and what makes them keep at it. Both are young, renowned and in possession of a vast body of work.
Olivier Tallec
Born in 1970, Tallec’s recognisable yet versatile style leapfrogs from picture books to comic books working his beautifully textured magic across the publishing board with effortless grace. If you’re looking for a way to describe his work, the word is “charmed”.
Athens News: What led you to become an illustrator and how easily can you survive on your art alone?
Olivier Tallec: I started out as a graphic designer and, later on, when I found myself needing work, I started sniffing around publishing houses and newspapers. My first job was as a newspaper cartoonist, but I soon became interested in children’s books because it’s such a developing industry in France. We’re talking 6,000 titles per year. It’s a very special slice of the literary market because it guarantees absolute freedom. You can develop your style any which way and express yourself with no limitations, which is probably why it attracts so many young professionals.
In Greece, children’s books represent 21 percent of annual book sales, but in my experience as a children’s book writer, the artistic limitations are immense. How can France be the exact opposite?
Kiddie books are a really big market in my country, so the books tend to cover all sorts of subjects, even the ones that used to be considered taboo, like death, divorce, sexuality etc. Also, I’ve been doing this job for 15 years, so I do enjoy a certain amount of trust as far as publishers are concerned.
Do you feel that you are building a relationship with children or with the adults who buy the books for them?
It’s clearly a relationship with the adults. If you set a kid loose in a bookstore, no way are they going to choose the same books their parents would buy for them.
Is your personal style influenced by what sells the most?
I’m not really worried about being commercial, but developing your own personal style is very important. At the end of the day, publishers will offer you work depending on what suits your style, so it makes sense to be recognisable. As soon as they read something that fits your aesthetic, they contact you immediately.
What are your influences?
I have been drawing since I was very young. At first I just copied out my favourite comic book heroes, but the more you work the more your own personal universe starts showing through. I mostly draw inspiration from folk art, the posters I pass on the streets, photos in magazines etc.
Can you describe your relationship with writers?
There are two kinds of situations. Sometimes I get the texts directly from the publisher and have no contact with the author whatsoever until the project is finished. There’s a second scenario where I initiate projects with friends and then take them to the publisher for approval.
What’s been your worst author-illustrator experience so far?
I remember working on the cover of a book about someone who’d been in jail, only I had no idea it was supposed to be autobiographical. I did this illustration of a prisoner reading a book while lying on his bed, which turned out to be a huge misfire because you weren’t allowed to take books back to your cell. It was a really big deal for the author, so I had to do it all over again.
Vassilis Papatsarouchas
Born in 1975, Papatsarouchas is a proud addition to Greece’s fine art credentials, as his often cerebral yet deliciously playful approach to illustration has tickled the fancy of more than book-loving children. And his 2008 nomination for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award is there to prove it.
Athens News: What was your artistic background before getting into illustration?
Vassilis Papatsarouchas: I was in my second year at the Athens School of Fine Arts when my brother [writer/actor Paschalis Papatsarouchas] asked me to draw some sketches for one of his books. That was 11 years ago - I haven’t stopped since.
Someone recently said painters don’t have to be illustrators but illustrators have to be painters. Do you agree with that?
I can’t separate painters from illustrators. I’ve also heard people say illustrators aren’t as highly valued as painters. In my opinion it’s like trying to separate poets from lyrists. Some people do value poetry over lyrics but they’re one and the same to me. The only difference is illustrators function a lot like film directors. They need to envisage a scene and use images to contextualise a story. They need to know what happened before and what happens next and that, in my opinion, is what separates them from painters.
You’ve illustrated a rather large number of books for your age. Do you work nonstop?
I turned 35 a month ago and I’ve illustrated a total of 50 books. Some were cover assignments and some don’t feature full illustrations, but that’s more or less the number I’ve accumulated so far. I do work a lot and try to organise my time as best I can. Certain things became easier as time went by and although you’re always looking for new ways of expression, you do conquer the medium to a greater extent.
What kind of limitations do you face when it comes to artistic expression?
I don’t really face any, at least not in the past six or seven years. No one has ever asked me to change anything. Some writers have felt the need to stress certain elements of the story or the character that they felt were important or were very close to their heart and would have liked to see portrayed, but that’s completely acceptable. They’re not censoring me in any way.
How do you prefer to handle collaborations with authors?
There have been times where the writer didn’t get to see the book until it was finished, but that was mostly cover assignments. All the rest of my collaborations involve a lot of discussion, not just in the beginning but during the process as well. It’s important to me that writers be satisfied and I think it means a lot to them, too. That’s probably why some of my collaborations - with writer Christos Boulοtis for example - have become permanent.
ATHENS NEWS 30/08/2010, page: 14-15
