Back in college, I pulled an all-nighter, once every two weeks, to lay out the school newspaper. The process involved typeset galleys, blue-line boards, hot wax and Xacto knives. A few years later I was working at a trade magazine company, doing about the same, but with regular hours. One morning in the late eighties, I arrived at the job to discover a brand new Macintosh IIx waiting for me. The revolution had come to my desk.
A few magazines (and a stint as a freelance illustrator) later, I took a job at a magazine for children’s librarians. I didn’t realize it at the time, but School Library Journal is legendary in the library world. It’s a highly respected source for reviews of children’s books and has been around since 1954!
At SLJ, I oversee the creative for School Library Journal’s editorial products. Since joining SLJ in 2001, I’ve designed 200 covers, and hundreds of feature layouts. I enjoy working with photographers and illustrators. I’ve arranged photo shoots with many superstars of children’s literature (including the authors of Twilight, The Hunger Games, Tale of Despereaux, and The Stinky Cheese Man). Top children’s book illustrators have created covers for us: Maurice Sendak, Kevin Henkes, Jerry Pinkney, Jules Feiffer, and so many more. It’s a fun job.
And for four interesting years between 2009 and 2013 I served in the capacity of creative director for our magazine group. In this role, I helped steer the magazines through a change of ownership. SLJ and Library Journal stayed together while the third magazine in the group, Publishers Weekly, went its own way. I was largely responsible for setting up our new art department from the ground up, including determining hardware and software needs, lining up vendors, and ensuring a smooth transition to a new content management system for our editorial production process. And, because we were transitioning from large-to-small corporate ownership, I also took care of myriad other graphic details including reception signage and identity materials.
I enjoy my work, my colleagues, and the profession that we serve. And I value SLJ‘s important role as a respected review source for children’s and young adult literature and for our extensive coverage of the extremely talented authors and illustrators of these books.
I hope you enjoy the samples on my site! I enjoy making them.
Thank You for posting the poem! My daughter worked on the Hampshire College Newspaper, too. She graduated 2012. We hope the college will “make” it going forward. We will go there tomorrow to bicycle and to puchase some things from their store.
I guess the changed their logo on their stickers. I hope you will
have time to visit this beautiful are, especially in the fall. Flavors
on the Cook Farm still makes Inez icecream!
Thank You, be well, from the Quiet Corner of Connecticut,
Elizabeth Eslao