The Girl and the Dinosaur
- By Hollie Hughes
- •
- 17 Sep, 2019
- •
A thank you letter . . .
A very long time ago (around four years ago, in fact) I sat down to write the first draft of what would eventually become The Girl and the Dinosaur. Although it was to be my fourth book, none of my first three books had yet been published and I was still very much living in my own little writing bubble. I've learnt a little bit about making books since then, but I am only just beginning to learn about the huge amount of team effort it takes to see a picture book through from concept to eventual publication. All books are a collaborative effort, and picture books are perhaps the most collaborative of all - The Girl and the Dinosaur is no exception. So, here are my thank you's:
Firstly, I would like to thank my brilliant agent Jodie Hodges - I don't know what made her lift me from the slush pile (I can only assume it must have been an uncustomary bad day!) but I will be forever grateful that she did. None of my books would have been possible without her.
Secondly, I would like to thank the legendary Emma Blackburn and Polly Whybrow at Bloomsbury Children's Books. Emma gave me my first publishing contract, held my hand all the way through the editing of my first book, and has supported me ever since - for those of you who are not lucky enough to have worked with her, she is, quite simply, awesome. I didn't start working with Polly until my third book, but she was there with me from almost the very beginning of The Girl and the Dinosaur. I can't even really begin to describe just what exactly Polly did for The Girl and the Dinosaur, but I know that it would not have been the book it is today without her. It is an amazing, and rare, thing when someone else is able to see what you are capable of before you can even begin to imagine it for yourself - Polly has been that person for me. She pushes me to be a better writer than I am with every edit, but without ever taking over and doing it herself (which I am sure would be easier for her!) It seems to me to be an almost impossibly generous gift at times, and I am not yet practised enough with words to be able to properly express just quite how much it has meant to me. I would also like to thank everyone at Bloomsbury - I am still beginning to learn who everyone is and what everyone does, but Emily, Pari, Bea and Jade have all been invaluable to me. I know though that there are also so, so many people behind the scenes who have made this book happen - and, if you are one of those people, I would like to thank you especially and tell you that, even though I may not know your name yet, I know that this book would not have been possible without you. Special thanks also to Kristina Coates, who has since moved on from Bloomsbury - but not before completing the brilliant design and layout of The Girl and the Dinosaur.
Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank the phenomenal talent that is Sarah Massini. It must be a very scary thing for an illustrator to commit such a huge amount of their life to co-author someone else's text - especially when that someone else is little known, and charted success is by no means a certainty (or even likely). I am hugely grateful to Sarah not just for choosing to work on this book with me, when I know she could have her pick of any book, but also for pouring so much of herself into it. Sarah's illustrations are undoubtedly brilliant, as I always knew they would be, but they are so very much more than that. Even though we are yet to meet, I feel we have come to know one another already through our shared Marianne.
The Girl and the Dinosaur is a book that has been crafted with love, from all of us - I hope that shines through.
Firstly, I would like to thank my brilliant agent Jodie Hodges - I don't know what made her lift me from the slush pile (I can only assume it must have been an uncustomary bad day!) but I will be forever grateful that she did. None of my books would have been possible without her.
Secondly, I would like to thank the legendary Emma Blackburn and Polly Whybrow at Bloomsbury Children's Books. Emma gave me my first publishing contract, held my hand all the way through the editing of my first book, and has supported me ever since - for those of you who are not lucky enough to have worked with her, she is, quite simply, awesome. I didn't start working with Polly until my third book, but she was there with me from almost the very beginning of The Girl and the Dinosaur. I can't even really begin to describe just what exactly Polly did for The Girl and the Dinosaur, but I know that it would not have been the book it is today without her. It is an amazing, and rare, thing when someone else is able to see what you are capable of before you can even begin to imagine it for yourself - Polly has been that person for me. She pushes me to be a better writer than I am with every edit, but without ever taking over and doing it herself (which I am sure would be easier for her!) It seems to me to be an almost impossibly generous gift at times, and I am not yet practised enough with words to be able to properly express just quite how much it has meant to me. I would also like to thank everyone at Bloomsbury - I am still beginning to learn who everyone is and what everyone does, but Emily, Pari, Bea and Jade have all been invaluable to me. I know though that there are also so, so many people behind the scenes who have made this book happen - and, if you are one of those people, I would like to thank you especially and tell you that, even though I may not know your name yet, I know that this book would not have been possible without you. Special thanks also to Kristina Coates, who has since moved on from Bloomsbury - but not before completing the brilliant design and layout of The Girl and the Dinosaur.
Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank the phenomenal talent that is Sarah Massini. It must be a very scary thing for an illustrator to commit such a huge amount of their life to co-author someone else's text - especially when that someone else is little known, and charted success is by no means a certainty (or even likely). I am hugely grateful to Sarah not just for choosing to work on this book with me, when I know she could have her pick of any book, but also for pouring so much of herself into it. Sarah's illustrations are undoubtedly brilliant, as I always knew they would be, but they are so very much more than that. Even though we are yet to meet, I feel we have come to know one another already through our shared Marianne.
The Girl and the Dinosaur is a book that has been crafted with love, from all of us - I hope that shines through.
