Julie Hedlund – Top 10 Picture Book Summit Moments

Today it’s my turn to share my Top 10 favorite moments from 10 years of Picture Book Summit! Although as Katie said, it’s impossible to choose ONLY 10, so here is a small sampling of some of the magical experiences I’ve enjoyed as one of the founders of this incredible conference.

I found myself quite emotional after writing this post. I’m so proud to be part of the  Picture Book Summit team, and I can honestly say I’m looking forward to the next 10 years!

1. First Day Jitters

Somehow, I drew the straw of interviewing our first speaker (author/illustrator Peter Brown) of the first Summit. I was SO nervous, and the night before I barely slept because I had stress dreams all night (the usual—showing up late, forgetting to wear clothes, not being able to log in…). But the interview was, of course, amazing! Afterward, I just knew the rest of the day was going to be incredible – that we had really created something special.

2. David Shannon’s Big Oops!

I love myself a great pun. I also love stories where authors and illustrators we love share their goofs and gaffes with us. Like David Shannon telling us how important it is for illustrators to revise for consistency in their illustrations. In the first edition of Duck On a Bike, all of the illustrations featured a bell on the bike except the last one, which was missing the bell. He got called on it by a kid and decided to make bell stickers. From then on, when any kid wrote in to point out the lack of a bell on the last bike, he sent a sticker saying they received the “No-Bell Prize.” Get it? Get it? (laugh emoji)

3. Tours by Tomie

The biggest thrill for me of having the late Tomie dePaola as one of our keynote speakers was not his actual session (although that was beyond inspiring). It was during our tech check before the Summit when he gave Kelli and me a virtual tour of his studio and his house! We got a close-up view of his stash of paintbrushes, the art he hung on his walls, and his garden. He was so warm and generous. Here he is this iconic author and illustrator taking the time to make us feel special and appreciated. It makes me miss him even more.

4. Jane Yolen is good.

Jane Yolen is my all-time favorite picture book author and, I am fortunate to say, a personal mentor of mine. She said something during her 2016 session that has stuck with me ever since (based on something her husband said to her): “It’s easier to sell a good book than a great one because a great one breaks barriers, it’s something they’ve never seen before. If they’ve never seen it before, how do they market it?” It is SO important to remember that just because a book doesn’t sell right away (or at all), does NOT mean it isn’t phenomenal or worthy.

5. Mac Barnett’s Impact

I can honestly say that Mac Barnett’s first presentation at Picture Book Summit had one of the greatest impacts on my subsequent writing than any other before or since. He talked about the importance of page turns in picture books, and it blew open my ability to think visually when writing. But then we came back to earth when we got to vote on whether his Grover voice sounded like Grover or more like Yoda. (For the record, I thought it sounded more like Yoda.)

6. Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Flip Flop

I so vividly remember author and editor Andrea Davis Pinkney telling us the story about how she wrote the idea for her first picture book, The Seven Candles for Kwanzaa, on the heel of her flip-flop at the Brooklyn YMCA pool. She’d forgotten her notebook at home. It was a great reminder to write your ideas down no matter where you are or what materials you have!

7. What Isn’t Jon Klassen’s Afraid Of?

Another career-changing presentation was Jon Klassen’s Using Your Fear to fuel creativity. I had NEVER thought about how weaknesses could be used as tools for originality. One of the most memorable lines was when he talked about his process for writing I Want My Hat Back. He looked at the dialogue he’d written and hated it. He asked himself, “Am I afraid of quotation marks?” If you have a copy of that book, you’ll see none of the dialogue is tagged or put in quotation marks. It was a good reminder that your work is yours. Make it something you can be proud of.

8. Sophie Blackall’s Sweet Potato

Sophie Blackall was one of our keynote speakers for 2020, the pre-vaccine pandemic year. She shared a video she’d made featuring a sweet potato as a main character, and I was so moved by it that I ugly cried. I’m sure you’re wondering how a short sweet potato movie could be so impactful, but that’s part of the magic of Picture Book Summit. You have to be there (which is why you should be there)! IYKYK.

9. Inspiration from The Fan Brothers

I loved how The Fan Brothers used the term “creative dumpster diving” for the act of opening up your brain to story possibilities. They said poems, songs, images, T-shirts (a big one for them), road signs, everything can be a jumping-off point for your imagination to spark a story. As just one example of how I’ve taken this advice to heart, I went to a paint store shortly after their session. I used the names of paint chips as inspiration.

10. Bucket List Item Achieved!

Last but most definitely not least, moderating the Q & A for our own Emma Walton Hamilton’s session last year talking about writing partnerships with her mother, Julie Andrews, was a hallmark moment for me. It was such an honor to be in a Zoom room with them just one month after my picture book biography about Julie Andrews was published. Their love, affection, and respect for one another are so heartwarming. Hearing how they established and maintained a successful creative partnership all of these years gave me the desire to launch even more creative collaborations in my own writing. (Watch this space!)

Don’t miss any more career-changing or life-changing Picture Book Summit moments. Join us at our 10th Anniversary Picture Book Summit!

Picture Book Summit 2024

Perfect 10: Going for Picture Gold!

October 5, 2024

Early Bird Registration ends 9/6/24!