Publishing Luminaries with Cecilia Yung | June 5, 2013
by Faye Bi
On March 27, Cecilia Yung, VP and Art Director at G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Nancy Paulsen Books at Penguin Group USA, gave a two-hour presentation entitled “The Art of Direction” as part of our Publishing Luminaries series. The event was attended by 30 young publishing professionals — there wasn’t an empty seat in the house! Attendees learned about an art director’s process in helping a picture book illustrator solve visual storytelling dilemmas and how an idea or concept becomes the final cover of a novel. Cecilia brought in several examples from picture books and novels she’d worked on, such as Ethan Long’s Geisel Award-winning Up, Tall, and High and Tara Sullivan’s upcoming Golden Boy. Attendees had a chance to ask questions following the presentation.