Women Who Dared To Dream: Interview with illustrator Yasmin Bryan

Once Upon a Time in Birmingham: Women Who Dared To Dream is a fully illustrated book that tells the stories of 30 inspirational women from Birmingham, past and present. We interviewed some of the incredible women who helped make the book a reality... Yasmin Bryan, one of the illustrators:

1. How did you get involved with this book?

The Emma Press contacted me after seeing my work at Birmingham City University graduation show. It felt so great to get approached like this as it feels like you've really been noticed!

2. What was it like working on/being part of this book?

As I had only just graduated it was really exciting to be working on a project with real recognition. The Emma Press were great and easy to work with and I often got feedback for my work when I needed it.

3. What kind of responses have you had from the book?

Since the book I have done a number of freelance projects, from greeting card designs to theatre backdrops, so quite varied! But most recently I have taken on a full time design position at The Media Group - a creative design agency.

Bertha Ryland

4. What has been a highlight for you of being involved in this book?

I think the highlight for me was just to be given the chance to be involved in something so professional. When you come out of university it can be hard to find your first job, so it was really uplifting to have a company believe in you and your work.

5. Can you tell us about a woman who has inspired you?

I feel like I should name an iconic person from history, but I actually believe that Beyonce is a big inspiration to me. I grew up listening and dancing to her music and as I've got older and her music has progressed, I find what she stands for really inspirational. She speaks for the little people and is empowering to black females everywhere. Always giving 100% for anything she's believes and is passionate about which is a great attitude to have in life. But then a woman who will forever and always be a true inspiration to me is my mum, she's just the greatest! Need I say anymore?




You can find out more about Once Upon a Time in Birmingham and order your copy (£14.99) here. 

Photo: Jack Spicer Adams

Women Who Dared To Dream: Interview with illustrator Chein Shyan Lee

Once Upon a Time in Birmingham: Women Who Dared To Dream is a fully illustrated book that tells the stories of 30 inspirational women from Birmingham, past and present. We interviewed one of the incredible women who helped make the book a reality... Chein Shyan Lee, one of the illustrators:

1. How did you get involved with this book?

I am currently a full time illustrator and I was a Birmingham City University student majored in Illustration. Emma Press approached me after she took interest in my works through BCU's degree graduation show. It was a great honour to be able to illustrate 5 empowered women in government, activism and entertainment sector.

2. What was it like working on/being part of this book?

Shabana Mahmood

I always take a big interest in the publishing industry and it was the perfect opportunity for me working with Emma Press. It was an interesting project because I had to portray empowerment in each woman without overlooking their personal characteristics. Emma herself is an inspiring figure for running a publication in Jewellery Quarter and making Once Upon A Time In Birmingham happen. I would love to work more on books in the future because I think educational books are an important medium to inspire the future generation.

3. What kind of responses have you had from the book?

 Everyone loves the book, it was nice to acknowledge women are as capable as men in every aspect. I was really inspired after illustrating empowered women throughout Birmingham history. Back in my home country Malaysia, successful women are not as acknowledged as the women in England; it is really something we should strive for.

4. What has been a highlight for you of being involved in this book?

The highlight for me is getting good exposure and as well as meeting new friendly faces, Emma herself and fellow illustrators.

5. Can you tell us about a woman who has inspired you?

There are many women who inspired me throughout my life. My current inspiring woman is Yayoi Kusama, an iconic contemporary artist in our time. She has received many awards for her work and exhibited in major cities. What is so inspiring about Kusama is that she put her own fear in her works, making her art pieces her alter-ego. Besides that, Kusama is also an advocate for feminist art and environment art. I hope in the future I could produce art that inspires the world too.




You can find out more about Once Upon a Time in Birmingham and order your copy (£14.99) here. 

Photo: Jack Spicer Adams

Women Who Dared To Dream: Interview with illustrator Amy Evans

Once Upon a Time in Birmingham: Women Who Dared To Dream is a fully illustrated book that tells the stories of 30 inspirational women from Birmingham, past and present. We interviewed one of the incredible women who helped make the book a reality... Amy Evans, one of the illustrators:

1. How did you get involved with this book?

I got involved with the book after I was approached by yourselves at the Emma Press and asked if it was something I would like to be involved in. How could I say no! The book didn't even have a name yet, but the concept sounded amazing and I couldn't wait to get going!

I am always proud to be a woman, and proud to have a connection to our beautiful Birmingham and its people. I was really excited.

2. What was it like being part of this book?

Being part of the book has been such an honour. It's a really special thing to be able to acknowledge these great women and their achievements by illustrating them and trying to embody their energy and spirit was a challenge that I tried to embrace. I desperately wanted to get it right so there were a good few furiously balled up sheet of paper in the process of trying to achieve their likeness! When things started coming together it felt good to represent them.

3. What kind of responses have you had from the book?

Lisa Clayton

When I tell people about Once Upon A Time In Birmingham it is always so well received. The way that it is out there and ready to inspire young women can only be a good thing and I love telling people about they way that was an all female effort behind the scenes too. My boss heard about it on the work grapevine and made a point to come and ask me about it and wanted to see a copy which was wonderful!

Hearing people being so positive at the launch and the Waterstones event was so touching. It's really out there and people are loving it, and I think that's been a real highlight. When I've illustrated books before, the normal process is that you finish your illustrations, it eventually goes out to print and it's exciting to see it on the shelves in book shops, but you never really get to see how it's received. This has been a really special book in that the events that have followed have allowed everyone to see how much the girls are enjoying it and being inspired by it.

 4. Can you tell us about a woman who has inspired you?

I find all women inspiring! My Mum, My Girl Gang, My sister, colleagues, everyone! If I had to pick one of the top of my head that inspired me when I was little I would choose JK Rowling. My Mum always made a big point, whilst I was reading the Harry Potter Books, about how she came from nothing and wrote the start of Harry Potter on a Napkin which I always found fascinating and must've taken real strength of character to get to where she is today.

Working on this book has really opened my eyes up to both the struggles and achievements of womenkind, that perhaps being born in the 90's I could've taken for granted. The world was a different place for women not so long ago and change has come about because of the efforts of so many women. The women featured in the book are particularly special because they knew what they wanted to do and were just going for it, regardless of their background, expectations of how they should behave or think or act. They have a cause for change and a job that needs doing and they're letting nothing get in their way! These are the kinds of women I admire in particular.

You can find out more about Once Upon a Time in Birmingham and order your copy (£14.99) here. 

Photo: Jack Spicer Adams

Friends of the Emma Press newsletter #3

Did you know you can support the Emma Press and all the work we do by becoming a subscriber? Become a Friend of the Emma Press for £5-15 per month and receive a quarterly thank-you package and an exclusive quarterly e-newletter. Here's a taster of the most recent one:
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Dear Friends,

Thank you for your support! Here, a little later than planned, is an update on the various things that have been going on with the Emma Press.

So, today is the last day of my long-awaited holiday! I've been in California for the last 2.5 weeks, staying with family and friends (someone I met just before I left said "Well done on having family and friends in California"), and I thought I'd enjoy my flight back this evening more if I'd sent out my overdue Friends newsletter. For the most part I've managed not to think too much about work while I've been away, as I wanted my brain to relax and return to Birmingham refreshed and ready to resume kicking ass/publishing recondite literary endeavours, but of course it was always in the background. It's hard to forget the reason why one is telling oneself every day to RELAX!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD RELAX!!!

The main thing I've been trialling recently, even before my holiday started, has been letting go of all the things I've been telling myself I must be or avoid being. I'm very aware of how hard I've been trying since the start of the Emma Press to hold myself to the standards of the biggest publishers. Though my tagline was "small press, big dreams" and my business was the size of just me, I wanted to be just as professional and efficient as the big guys, and even more committed to accessibility and fairness. I think this was partly to avoid the stigma attached to the idea of self-publishing, and partly because I didn't see the point in aiming low. So, I tried to make lots of books, run publicity campaigns, organise lots of events for authors, stick to all my deadlines and committments, reply to all emails, create lots of opportunities for publication and give lots of people training in publishing through work experience and freelance work. Lots and lots. That is what I've been pushing myself to do over the last 7 years, and to no-one's surprise I've worn myself quite thin.

Before I left for California, I stacked up all the books I'd published this year and realised that I'd already published as many books as the previous year-with-the-most-number-of-books (2014; 15 books), and it was only June and I still have many more books yet to come. So that made an impression on me: I thought, "Well no wonder I need a holiday!"

And apart from the holiday, I've been taking care of myself in other ways: planning to do fewer books next year (maybe 12-14), just arranging one launch event per book, not beating myself up about getting behind on social media, moving some pub dates and deadlines instead of burning the midnight oil to hit them, having a little break from submissions, and letting my freelancers go.

The last one was kind of a big deal, as I really wanted to give more people opportunities to work in publishing and be part of the change I wanted to see, but it was costing a lot of money and I ended up realising that I don't need to take it on myself to try and single-handedly transform the publishing industry. I have done a lot already and I can do more in the future, when I'm less stressed.

When I return to my desk, I hope I can retain some of this clarity and keep making sensible decisions for myself and the business. I've been feeling good about the impact I've already had on the poetry landscape, as the various new pamphlets have been launched and I've looked back on all the other pamphlets they're joining in the Emma Press list. I'm glad that it means something now to be an Emma Press poet and I want to keep offering this platform to people, so I'm hoping I can open an new call for poetry pamphlet submissions in September but I'll see how I get in with work over the next few weeks.

I have another children's poetry anthology to typeset and illustrate, about insects, and some poetry pamphlets to get ready for the printer. Also, amidst all my thoughts about slowing down, an opportunity came up with the Arts Council to apply for a huge grant to develop my organisational resilience. My expression of interest was successful so now I have till 15th August to submit my full application. I'll send my next newsletter after that and let you know if I managed it!

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If you enjoyed this newsletter and would like to support us in producing lovely books and providing opportunities for readers and writers, click here to find out more about becoming a Friend of the Emma Press.

Dinosaur poets, assemble! What inspired your dinosaur poem? (Part 4)

Our newest children poetry anthology is Dragons of the Prime: Poems about Dinosaurs, edited by Richard O'Brien with notes by Will Tattersdill, aimed at children aged 8+. We asked the poets what inspired them to write their poems...

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Iguanodon

Jeremy Wikeley 
I have always been fascinated by what did, or didn't happen between the dinosaurs' time and ours. To be honest, the scale of loss terrifies me. The poem probably comes, ultimately, from that place, although of course I don't want to scare anyone, least of all our readers! The poem itself is light-hearted, though you can see parallels with today's warnings about mass extinction. Meanwhile, there is something wonderful about the fact that you and I are descended from what thrived next. Human-centric as it is, I wanted to communicate that.)

Rachael Nicholas 
It was the story of the discovery of the Podokesaurus that fascinated me, particularly because the museum housing the original specimen burned down. All those years since the first day of its life, all that time in the ground; uncovered by chance, and then destroyed by accident. I wanted to keep going back from that ending to think about what came before, and before that, and before that, right back to the start.

Elli Woollard 
For me it's both incredible and humbling to think that dinosaurs probably once roamed the very ground we tread on now. I wrote the poem to conjure up that sense of wonder.

An illustration of diplodocus from the book

Bo Crowder 
I was inspired by when 'Dippy' disappeared from the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum and went on to tour the country.

Louise Crosby
There is lots of writing about dinosaurs, so my poem was inspired by what we don't know because nobody has ever seen a living dinosaur. I thought about all the senses and realised that we can only guess at what they smelt like, or sounded like. Hence I wrote 'What did dinosaurs smell like?' Well actually I wrote about what they don't smell of! I leave you to write about sound.


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Dragons of the Prime: Poems about Dinosaurs is on sale now – buy your copy for £10.99 from our webshop!

Dinosaur poets, assemble! What inspired your dinosaur poem? (Part 3)

Our newest children poetry anthology is Dragons of the Prime: Poems about Dinosaurs, edited by Richard O'Brien with notes by Will Tattersdill, aimed at children aged 8+. We asked the poets what inspired them to write their poems...

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Jane Newberry 
When my son was four he took part in the Palaeontologist race at Sports Day. Ned taught me everything I know about dinosaurs and took me to the Natural History Museum.

Sophie Kirtley 
I'm always inspired by young people who do amazing things. When I read that Mary Anning was 12 (yes, 12!!) when she discovered her first dinosaur fossil (an ichthyosaur skull poking out of a rock face - how exciting must THAT have been?!) I knew that I just had to write about her. I imagined how it would feel to be a young Georgian girl stomping along a wild Dorset beach, dinosaur hunting, and I tried to literally put myself in Mary Anning's pioneering shoes.

Illustration of Lawrence's poem from the book

Lawrence Schimel 
I wrote my poem because I've always been struck by the disparity between the Tyrannosaurus' sheer bulk and ferocity, on the one hand, and its tiny, near-useless arms. Not to over-anthropomorphize, but it seems easy to imagine these creatures acting like bullies because of their self-consciousness about their body image--or otherwise trying to compensate, like the T. Rex in my poem.

Emma Rose Millar 
I was inspired to write my poem Dawn of the Dinosaur while visiting Oxford Natural History Museum, where my son and I learned about the evolution of dinosaurs, beginning with lobe-finned fish. The museum is free to enter, with loads of interesting skeletons, fossils and crystals to see.

Image from The Land Before Time, which inspired Wye Haze's poem

Wye Haze
Like many poems, my dinosaur poem is about more than one thing. It's about dinosaurs, of course, and it's also about cherishing time with your family, which is something which was on my mind when I wrote it.

Lorraine Mariner 
I called myself a dinosaur to a friend because I felt I was falling behind with new technology and that gave me an idea for the poem.


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Dragons of the Prime: Poems about Dinosaurs is on sale now – buy your copy for £10.99 from our webshop!

Dinosaur poets, assemble! What inspired your dinosaur poem? (Part 2)

Our newest children poetry anthology is Dragons of the Prime: Poems about Dinosaurs, edited by Richard O'Brien with notes by Will Tattersdill, aimed at children aged 8+. We asked the poets what inspired them to write their poems...

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Rebecca Rouillard
My poem was inspired by Walking With Dinosaurs Episode 4, 'Giant of the Skies', which featured an Ornithocheirus at the end of his life. I watched Walking With Dinosaurs a lot with my son when he was younger, and the tragic line "the Ornithocheirus has lost his majesty" always made us cry. My son also requested an Ornithocheirus cake for his 5th birthday party.

Nodosarus

Camille Gagnier 
When I decided to write a poem about dinosaurs, I thought about looking at stuff in museums with my parents and my grandparents, and then I thought about life going on and on through the generations. Animals who die are remembered by the rocks where their bones are buried, or by other living things who find evidence of them and wonder what they were like.

Tristan Otto

Ros Woolner
For the past four years, my favourite dinosaur has been the T. rex – specifically Tristan Otto, whose skeleton is on display at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin. At the end of 2015, the museum produced a wonderful bilingual book to accompany the exhibition, which followed the journey of the bones from living dinosaur to museum exhibit, and I was on the team that produced the English translation. I have felt connected to Tristan Otto's story ever since, and my poem '66 million years' is about him.

Philip Monks 
My poem 'The Bone Wars' is a series of Clerihews. These were invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley and are slightly silly four-line poems about someone. My poem is about two fossil hunters and how silly they were, so I thought it was a good form to choose. This website tells you more about them and this one shows you how to have a go yourself. July 10th is National Clerihew Day.

Junornis huoi

Ruth Wiggins
My poem 'Tiny' was inspired by two things: firstly, a fossil of Junornis huoi. In photos of the fossil you can see the long tail feathers of this Early Cretaceous bird, and can really imagine it running. Secondly, my poem was inspired by my fairy goddaughters, Hester and Niamh (aged 10). Hester has adored dinosaurs for as long as she can remember, and Niamh (who prefers cats) is very good at running.

Cat Weatherill 
I have always loved the idea of a jigsaurus dinosaur. I imagine it to be stegosaurus-shaped, with skin that is heavily mottled, giving the impression of jigsaw pieces. Brontosaurus-shape would work too, but NOT tyrannosaurus. A jigsaurus couldn't be ferocious, could it? It would have to be one of the placid ones!

Pete Donald 
My poem, 'Pthe Pteranodon', celebrates the use of the silent P (as in bath).

John Kitchen
The thought of a just hatched and vulnerable lizard and the massive beast it would grow up to be.


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Dragons of the Prime: Poems about Dinosaurs is on sale now – buy your copy for £10.99 from our webshop!