2011 Conference Series-Editorial & Art Director Faculty: Anne Moore

We have only one final amazing 20th Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference Faculty member to showcase! Anne Moore is on our Editorial and Art Director Faculty, and is co-leading the Master Class for Illustrators along with Dan Santat. Anne works for Candlewick Press as the Art Resource Coordinator.

Anne has worked in children’s book publishing for over 20 years working as a Senior Book Designer both at Little, Brown and Company and Candlewick Press. She works extensively with art agents who represent a wide variety of illustrators and is involved with the process of negotiating offers & contracts for illustrators. Her specialties include researching and finding illustration styles to suit particular texts and providing visual resources to the art and editorial departments.

Anne also took some time and answered questions from our Faculty Q & A (that were adjusted especially for her by our own Jaime Temairik).

What’s your average day like?
When I was a book designer, I worked on 10-15 books at a time, had tight deadlines and worked on a book from sketch stage to final proof stage My role now is more big picture & not quite as deadline-driven. I coordinate weekly meetings that help editors find the appropriate illustration style for their texts, and on the average, we’re considering or negotiating about 15-20 new projects at a time. I assist the creative director, Chris Paul by keeping the department up-to-date on new & seasoned illustrators and suggest illustration styles for stories that have been newly acquired. I often have the honor of sending a text to an illustrator or their agent to ask if they are interested in illustrating the story. That certainly is a highlight, as it often involves a very excited illustrator or agent on the other end of the line. My day is filled with looking at artist websites, blogs and I also review art submissions and picture book dummies from agents and artists, providing feedback and/or sharing with the creative director or an appropriate editor.


Do you have a favorite working snack?

Ah, I love dark roast coffee in the morning & a steaming mug of Good Earth tea in the afternoon. Little chunks of dark chocolate also seem to appear on my desk at key times too.

Are you currently acquiring illustrators?
I’m always looking for new illustrators with a strong sense of character that I connect with emotionally. It’s exhilarating to find an illustrator that has their very own/unique style…this certainly jazzes me. Obviously, we look for folks who can illustrate children and animals with believable gestures, movement and perspectives in identifiable scenarios. Themes involving bedtime, playground, siblings, nature, pets, school and home are some standard ones for an illustrator to consider showcasing in their portfolio.

You’re on Twitter! Do you find artists via Twitter? Or is it more about keeping up on industry news, community building, having fun?
I decided to join Twitter as an experiment of sorts to connect with the children’s book industry news and to share some of the Candlewick news that relates to our illustrators & books. I’ve found it’s such an easy, immediate way to communicate and share ideas with a circle of creative people. I cannot say I’ve necessarily found illustrators on Twitter for our books per se, but I do see new work as it appears on their blogs, so it’s been a great way to be connected to fresh ideas and images. Come follow me.

What’s your favorite children’s book/cover of 2010 (or even the last two months if you want!) (not done by your publishing house)?
I love the strong graphic quality & charm of Lane Smith’s IT’S A BOOK. The type design is so clean & I love how it integrates with the image in such a deceptively simple & satisfying way….perfecto! I also adore Jon Klassen’s work and his covers for the THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN series. This fall, Candlewick is publishing I WANT MY HAT BACK, his very first picture book that is both written and illustrated by him. We’re beyond thrilled.

Kill, kiss, or marry: Helvetica, Baskerville, or Comic Sans?
Well, I’d certainly kiss Helvetica.

Favorite Pantone color?
Well, it would have to be emberglow: 17-1547 I just love how saturated & luscious that coral is.
I love browns & corals together & citrons for accent…and I also have a soft spot for robin’s egg blue & hues of celery & sage.
I also adore pale blush Pantone 14-1312 like Hallie Berry’s Oscar gown this year, ooh lah lah!

I could go on & on…did I answer your question sufficiently?


Pictures! Are you willing to share any pictures? Either of your desk, a favorite spot in the office, tchotchkes, current project covers?

Candlewick Press ~ in background: our in house art gallery. Original art pieces that were chosen for the Society of Illustrators Original Art 2010 show are exhibiting currently.

Anne’s basket of inspiring art samples ~ one way to remember styles & illustrators’ work

Art samples surround Anne’s office walls


This is our second year doing a master class for illustrators, and we are really excited about both your and Dan’s sessions. Any last minute advice you want to give participants?
Enjoy the process…relax, dream, doodle… let the characters come to life. We’ll all be learning together as we go.

What’s something else you’d like to tell us about your background in children’s books (lifelong dream? Randolph Caldecott is your great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle? Candlewick is a front for a crime syndicate?)
You probably don’t know that I used to work on Marc Brown’s ARTHUR book series; one of his books was the very first I ever designed on a computer. Some other highlights of my career have been designing the Louisa May Alcott books re-published by Little, Brown and Company, visiting Melissa Sweet in her Maine studio and seeing her delightful illustrations gracing her kitchen cabinets. And, more recently, it’s been a pleasure to watch a former art intern at Candlewick, Julia Denos, blossom into a full-time, successful children’s book illustrator. I’ll be highlighting some of her work from Grandmother’s Gloves in one of the SCBWI-WA workshops.


What great details (and pictures!) from Anne!! A fun fact about Anne is that one of her favorite things to do is to meet with art students and review their portfolios, picture book dummies and sketchbooks. Make sure you get your name on the waiting list at our event website (registration is full).

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