production

Presenting at Sandcliffe Writers Festival photo courtesy of Jo Hoffman

“One of the best parts of running the Children’s Book Academy is seeing the beautiful books that our students make. This one is from June Perkins who took our Self-Publishing with Crowdfunding course, co-taught by Jed Alexander and myself. Magic Fish Dreaming is truly gorgeous, getting rave reviews, and most importantly getting into children’s hands in June’s native Australia.

June did not want to wait for an editor or agent and the incredibly slow process of getting contracted and published. Because it’s a book of poems, which also makes it harder to be picked up by a traditional publisher, June was wise to follow her heart and take her destiny into her own hands to create the book that she wanted. With the help of her illustrator Helene Magisson, and a small village of both professional and non-professional help, June has created something very beautiful and meaningful.

We are so grateful that June was sympathetic with our instructions by getting her poems professionally edited and hiring a really high-quality professional illustrator and designer from the money she raised in her successful Kickstarter campaign. We are also grateful that this beautiful book exists because of its beauty, it’s diversity, and the environmental caring it subtly weaves through inspiration.

After the book came out, I was delighted to interview June for this blog in hopes that others will purchase it and learn from June’s innovative poem structures, the exquisite art, and about this magic place in far North Queensland where Magic Fish Dreaming takes place. Here’s the interview where June shares about her experiences of self-publishing and about her process in making the book.”

To VIEW the Video head to the wonderful Blog by Mira Reisberg

To find out more about our Instant Access Self-Publishing with Crowdfunding course click here. There’s currently a $60.00 discount with this Promo Code: ILOVEKidLit

Gary at Fergies — Gary Printing the Book at Fergies

As this blog goes up, Magic Fish Dreaming is being printed and bound by Fergies, a Brisbane based printer.

We were lucky enough to have permission to have a sneak view of our book’s printing.

We thank them for hosting our visit to the printing of the book and the immense care they have taken with our project.

Gary, who was working on printing our book, has been doing the job for over 30 years, with 11 at Fergies. Wow! When you watch the operators at work with the plate and inks it is a job that reminds one of air traffic controllers, so much could go wrong, but their skill makes sure this doesn’t happen.

Richard Tillotson, who has been our liason with Fergies ever since the kickstarter, was able to answer many questions about the offset printing process, inks (they use soy based inks) and more. Fergies has won many awards for their environmental management. They do their best to minimize the impact of their company on the environment.

20161020_101354 — June with Richard looking over a printed page as it comes off the press

It felt like being in Santa’s workshop, with zippy music being played on the factory floor to help keep the staff alert as they work on shifts to make sure the press is used 24 hours a day.