Welcome to OPEN BOOK, where we open the book on our authors and discover their literary stories!
In our fourth edition, we'd like to introduce Gillian Wynne Grimm, author of The Tail of Morris.
To see a video version of this post, head to the Olympia Publishers Instagram or Facebook page, where Gillian Wynne Grimm answers the questions herself – sitting in her wonderful studio alongside her cat!
What is your name and what book have you written?
Hi! My name is Gillian Wynne Grimm, and I am the author and illustrator of The Tail of Morris.
How long did you take to write it?
The Tail of Morris was a pretty labour-intensive book to create. I work in painted paper collage that I then digitize so each spread can take a couple of days to a couple of weeks to finish off. It took me about a year to finish all the illustrations and get everything polished off.
Who is the first person you have gifted a copy of your printed book to?
The first copy of the book that I received, I gave to my family but the second copy of the book that I gave away was to the school where I am a school librarian. The students at my school really inspired me and in fact, kept me going when I was writing this book, by asking lots of questions, wanting to see drafts and giving me lots of suggestions.
What is your earliest reading memory?
My earliest reading memory is probably going to the public library in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to hear story time. I was really, really, lucky to have a fantastic librarian who understood my love of stories and my love of storytelling. They would let me know what the theme of the next week's story time was and then I would go home and dictate a story for my mom to write down. I would illustrate it and then the next week I would bring it to story time and the librarian would read my story along with the other stories. That really made me feel like I could do something as a writer - even before I could write, I could be a writer.
What book was your favourite as a child?
That is so hard! I have a lot of favourites, but I think one of my absolute favourites when I was at my littlest was a book called Whose Mouse Are You? [by Robert Kraus]. It was extra special because my Aunt Amy, who was also a librarian, got it signed for me and so every time I read it, I got this little thrill that the author had signed my name in the book, and it felt like the book was written just for me. That book became extremely special to me.
Which book is your current favourite?
I’m going to give you two. I love There was a Party for Langston [by Jason Reynolds]. That is one of my favourite picture books right now. I've read it to all my classes at school, and I have marvelled over the amazing pictures. The way the words become images - I just love everything about that book. My favourite adult book right now is probably The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. My brother and I both read it pretty much every year and so it has remained my favourite for many, many, many years.
How quickly can you finish reading a book?
I am a super-fast reader so I can read a book in 1 to 2 days depending on how long it is. I listen to a lot of books while I'm working, and I often will plow through about a book a day when I'm doing that. But everybody reads at their own pace, and you’ve got to read at what makes you feel happy and comfortable. I just happen to be a super-fast reader.
Do you prefer reading a book yourself or listening to an audiobook?
Speaking of audiobooks... I love both reading and listening to books. As a librarian, I am a big fan of reading but I do a lot of reading aloud in my daily work and so I understand the joy of listening to books. I discovered audiobooks when I was young and used to listen to them all the time and I still listen to probably an audiobook - or four - a week, especially when I'm working hard on a book. I put on an audiobook and just dive into my art and enjoy the story being told to me.
Who is your favourite author?
My all-time favourite author is Lucy Maud Montgomery, who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series and the Emily of New Moon series and many other amazing books. I discovered her when I was about 7 or 8 and she has been my favourite author of all time. I find comfort in her stories. I found myself in some of her stories - just reading about someone who felt a lot like me kind of changed my life when I was a kid.
Which book took you the longest to finish?
It was probably The Tail of Morris because the details in the illustrations were so labour-intensive. I spent a lot of time cutting tiny little bricks and tiny little flowers and cat eyes and whiskers and tails and all kinds of things. So, this book is probably going to be the one that took me the longest.
Are there any books which have inspired your writing?
I get a lot of inspiration from the picture books that I see through my work and the picture books that my kids read when they were little. I think the author-illustrator who inspired me the most as an author-illustrator myself is Eric Carle. I loved his use of painted paper collage; I love all the bright colours and wonky angles; and I love that his books tell us something kind of important, but they do it in a funny way, so we get to laugh, and we get to enjoy the story.
What book is at the top of your reading pile?
The book at the top of my reading pile is called You Are Here [by David Nicholls] and I am about to start listening to that probably later today when I sit down at my studio and get some work done.
Which book do you think everyone would enjoy?
The book I think everyone would enjoy is Wishtree by Catherine Applegate. In fact, I think it's a book everyone should read. It has an amazing story that's really important at this time in our world. The characters are fun: they're funny, they're lovable and there's some serious topics tackled as well as just some really hilarious moments.
How many books have you read so far this year?
I want to preface this by saying I'm a librarian, so I read a lot in my daily work and I'm also a super-fast reader, so I'm always a little hesitant to tell people how many books I've read so far because I don't want people to feel like they're in a competition. Right now, we're a couple months into the year, and I've read about 48 adult books and 32 or 33 kid books for work. I read about 250 books a year in adult books, and I don't even know how many kid books I read, because I'm always reading to kids.
Why should people read your book next?
I think people should read The Tail of Morris because we all have a little Morris in us. There's always something that we think that we should be, that we want to project to the world, but then there's also something inside us that's always going to be warring at that, and we really have to find that balance. I think Morris does it in a funny way - there's a good time to laugh. We get to participate in helping Morris, find his true self and I think that kids and adults are going to enjoy, growing a little bit with Morris.
This interview has been edited for our blog.
The Tail of Morris is available now in paperback.
