Page Four: Festival Prep, Loren Long, and What’s Next

Carly G -

This week has been full of exciting new events — both in my journey as an author and in connecting with the wider literary community in Tucson!
Last weekend, I attended a volunteer orientation for the Tucson Festival of Books, where I learned that I’ll be working as a venue monitor in the Education Building’s children’s area. As a venue monitor, I’ll help check in authors, assist with audience questions, and make sure everything runs smoothly during presentations. I’m hoping to coordinate my schedule so I can monitor one of the authors I’ll be interviewing — fingers crossed! If you’re stopping by the festival, come visit me and check out some of the amazing authors in the children’s area! Trust me when I say there’s something at the festival for everyone, from the live performances to STEM city, its not something to miss out on.

Some pictures I took during orientation!

 

Here’s a picture of me outside of the education building where I’ll be stationed at:

One of the highlights of my week was interviewing author and illustrator Loren Long. Loren is known for his beautiful artwork in books like Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama and his own Otto the Tractor series — which was inspired by stories his wife used to tell their kids at bedtime. What stood out most to me was how he spoke about anthropomorphism — the same theme I’m exploring in my own book. He shared that animal characters allow children of any background to see themselves in the story, creating a more inclusive experience. One of my favorite things he said was:
“When you anthropomorphize, you can really reach your audience in a different way — because they may learn something without realizing it.”
It meant so much to hear that if I ever needed advice in the future, Loren would be happy to help.

Next week, I’m heading to the Indian Wells tennis tournament in California for spring break — but I’ll be back with lots to share about the Tucson Festival of Books!

Until then — stay curious! 💫

Here’s a little peek at my workstation as I develop the book’s cover:

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Comments:

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    jimmy_k
    Nice cover art! Looks great! How do you think Loren Long's advice will apply to your book specifically?
    March 10, 2025 at 3:13 pm - Reply
    angel_g_c
    Wow, that cover art looks really cool! When you Interview them about anthropomorphism only or did you also ask them about other things that you think you could apply to your book?
    March 11, 2025 at 3:32 pm - Reply
    george_s
    It’s so cool you met such an experienced author! Does the festival organize the author presentations and stands by the genres they write?
    March 17, 2025 at 1:50 pm - Reply
    carly_g
    Thanks, Jimmy! Mr. Long and I spoke in depth about his recent book, The Yellow Bus, which features an anthropomorphized school bus without the comically expressive eyes of a usual character you may consider anthropomorphized (think Lightning McQueen). The bus is a "she" and is characterized similarly to The Giving Tree, where her passion for serving the community is what showcases her emotions even as she lacks a face. He offered me a new perspective on this topic and I'm thinking of incorporating similar elements by anthropomorphizing the sea and the sky in a similar way.
    March 19, 2025 at 11:32 am - Reply
    carly_g
    I appreciate your comment, Angel! Although the interview does focus on anthropomorphism and its significance, I also ask authors about where they draw their inspiration, how they begin once they have an idea, and similar questions about their methods when creating an illustrated children's book. Multiple authors have introduced me to the concept of a dummy, which is a black-and-white sketched-out version of the story that is easily evaluated and changed by editors, agents, and the like. I am thinking of implementing this and creating a dummy for my own storyboarding process.
    March 19, 2025 at 11:56 am - Reply
    carly_g
    I couldn't agree more, George. As for your question, the festival is organized by age group so children, teens, and adults can easily find everything that caters specifically to them. I know the teen section had great booths for mystery, fantasy, romance, and horror, which are super popular genres targeted to that age group.
    March 19, 2025 at 12:01 pm - Reply

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