Meet the faculty of the 2021 Austin SCBWI Writers & Illustrators Working Conference. We’ve asked all our faculty members to answer 4 quick questions so we can get to know them better.
Jerome Pumphrey, Author/Illustrator
Jerome Pumphrey is an award winning author and illustrator. He is also a graphic designer for the Walt Disney Company. He makes children’s books with his brother Jarrett. Their author-illustrator debut, THE OLD TRUCK, received seven starred reviews and was named a “Best Book of 2020” by PW, Kirkus, The Horn Book, Booklist, BookPage, The Washington Post, NPR, Shelf Awareness, Amazon, and others. Their highly-anticipated follow-up, THE OLD BOAT, releases in March 2021 from Norton Young Readers.
Author/Illustrator Jerome Pumphrey
What attracted you to children’s books?
I’ve always loved visual storytelling as a reader/viewer and as a creator. Children’s books (and picture books in particular) have been a wonderful way to explore this.
What’s the best part of your job?
It’s been really great seeing readers, young and old, connect with a story and artwork that I co-created. The Old Truck was our author/illustrator debut, so this is all still new and very exciting.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
It takes a lot of planning for me to find the right amount of time to sit down and create and not be rushed or pulled off by distractions. Taking a very organized approach to each project has helped with this. Also having a dedicated collaborator (my brother) has helped.
What’s the best piece of advice you were given that helped drive your career?
Write what you’re passionate about.
Come see Jerome Pumphrey at the 2021 Austin SCBWI conference, May 1-2, 2021.