Jessica Love

Jessica Love (born 1982) is an American theater actress, author, and illustrator. She is best known for her debut children's picture book Julián is a Mermaid,[1][2] which has won the Stonewall Book Award and Klaus Flugge Prize.[3][4] All of her books are LGBTQ+ friendly.[5]

Jessica Love
Born1982 (age 40–41)
Occupationtheater actress, author, and illustrator
NationalityAmerican
Notable worksJulián Is a Mermaid
Website
jesslove.format.com

Biography

Love grew up in Southern California,[6] raised by her parents, who were quite artistic. She attended the University of California Santa Cruz, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She then attended Juilliard's drama program and graduated with her master's in 2009.

Before publishing her first book, Julián is a Mermaid, in 2018, Love worked as an actress in New York City for thirteen years. She refers to her book as "her backstage baby"[7] as she worked on it between a Jez Butterworth's The River (2014) and Julia Cho's Aubergine at Playwrights Horizons (2016). During this time, she spent five years writing and illustrating Julián is a Mermaid before finding a publisher.[8]

Love currently lives in Hudson Valley with her partner, Daniel, and their son.[9][6] She and Daniel were friends for twenty years before they became romantically involved and have been together for the last five years.

Style

Love hand illustrated each of her books using ink, gouache, and watercolor. An interesting aspect of her Julián books is she uses brown paper.[10] She tried white paper originally, however she says, "something about it just wasn't working." When first starting to write Julián is a Mermaid Love states that it "was going to be entirely wordless.. but it became clear to me as I showed early sketches of the book to people that there was some information that was missing, and without it the story wouldn't actually make sense.[11]" Now she has included some words, but has been very careful to not overwrite the book or take your focus away from the illustrations.

In her newest book A Bed of Stars she explored her creativity in a more natural aspect looking at the nature around her.[9]

Inspiration

Love has stated she is most inspired by the work of Maurice Sendak, Hillary Knight, Bill Waterson, Shel Silverstein, John Klassen, Mac Barnett, and Carson Ellis.[12]

Books

Julián is a Mermaid (2018)
Main article: Julián Is a Mermaid

Julián is a Mermaid, published May 22, 2018 by Candlewick Press, is about a little boy riding this bus with his grandma when he notices three women dressed up as mermaids (colorful and beautiful) and goes home to dress up like a mermaid. The story follows how he feels about himself and how his abuela feels about her grandson discovering another aspect of himself.[13]

Love's inspiration for Julián is a Mermaid, was a friend who transitioned later on in life.[12] Love was inspired by his story and the struggles he had to go through to live his life as his truest self.[12] After hearing his story and starting to understand drag through Paris is Burning, she wanted to create a story about how the love of a community affects a child's view on themselves.[12]

Julián at the Wedding (2020)

In Julián at the Wedding, published October 6, 2020 by Candlewick Press, Julián and his abuela go to a wedding, where he makes a friend Marisol. Together, they create mischief and understand the value of friends.[14]

A Bed of Stars (2023)

A Bed of Stars, expected to be published April 4, 2023 by Candlewick Press,[9] is about a father who goes camping in the desert with his child. Love has stated that line “shake hands with the universe” is best explains the book.[9]

Awards and honors

In 2018, Julián is a Mermaid was named one of the best children's books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine,[15] Kirkus Reviews, NPR,[16] Publishers Weekly,[17] and TIME.

In 2020, Julián at the Wedding was named one of the best children's books of the year by Publishers Weekly.[18]

Awards for Love's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2018 Julián is a Mermaid Children's Book NAIBA Book of the Year Award Winner [19]
Opera Prima Bologna Children's Book Fair Winner
2019 ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [20]
Anna Dewdney Read Together Award Honor [21]
Bologna Ragazzi Award Winner [22]
Carnegie Medal Shortlist [23][24]
Ezra Jack Keats Book Award for Illustrator Honor [25][26][27]
Klaus Flugge Prize Winner [4][28]
Stonewall Book Award for Children's & Young Adult Winner [29][30]

Publications

As author
  • Julián is a Mermaid (Candlewick Press, 2018)[31]
    • Translations: Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Danish, German, Spanish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, French, Japanese, Dutch, and Korean.[32]
  • Julián at the Wedding (Candlewick Press, 2022)[33]
  • A Bed of Stars (Candlewick Press, 2023)[34]

As illustrator
  • I Love You Because I Love You by Mượn Thị Văn (HarperCollins, 2022)[35]
  • Will it Be Okay? by Crescent Dragonwagon (HarperCollins, 2022)[36]

References
  1. Gutterman, Annabel (November 19, 2018). "The 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2018". Time. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  2. Morse, Libby (June 29, 2018). "Spring 2018 Flying Starts: Jessica Love". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  3. "Stonewall Book Awards List". American Library Association. September 9, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  4. Flood, Alison (September 11, 2019). "'I am proven joyously wrong': picture book about trans child wins major prize amid moral panic". The Guardian. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  5. Hintz-Zambrano, Katie (2020-10-08). "Julian At The Wedding - Jessica Love". MOTHER. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  6. "About". Jessica Love. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  7. Morse, Libby (2018-06-29). "Spring 2018 Flying Starts: Jessica Love". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  8. Ward, Lindsay (November 8, 2018). "Interview with Debut Author + Illustrator Jessica Love". Critter Lit. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  9. O'Sullivan, Joanne (2022-07-28). "Cover Reveal: 'A Bed of Stars'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  10. "Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love: 9781536212389 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  11. "Let's Talk Illustrators #68: Jessica Love". Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  12. Ward, Lindsay (2018-11-08). "Interview with Debut Author + Illustrator Jessica Love". Critter Lit. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  13. "Let's Talk Illustrators #68: Jessica Love". Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  14. "Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love: 9781536212389". Penguin Randomhouse. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  15. "Horn Book Fanfare 1938 to present". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  16. "Books We Love". NPR. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  17. "Best Books 2018". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  18. "Julián at the Wedding by Jessica Love: 9781536212389 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  19. "NAIBA Books of the Year Award". New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  20. Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2019-02-25). "ALSC names 2019 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  21. "Awards: Colby, Anna Dewdney Read Together Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  22. Love, Jessica (2018-01-01). "Julián is a Mermaid". Diverse Families.
  23. "2019 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals Announced". School Library Journal. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  24. "Awards: J. Anthony Lukas Winners; CILIP Carnegie, Kate Greenaway Shortlists". Shelf Awareness . 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  25. Alex, John (2019-04-24). "Brooklyn author Jessica Love wins prestigious book award". The Brooklyn Home Reporter. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  26. "Image of the Day: Ezra Jack Keats Winners". Shelf Awareness . 2019-04-19. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  27. "Ezra Jack Keats Awards Announced and More | NewsBites". School Library Journal. 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  28. "Awards: Ngaio Marsh, Klaus Flugge Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2019-09-16. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  29. Communications and Marketing Office (2019-01-28). ""Julián is a Mermaid" and "Hurricane Child" win 2019 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award". American Library Association. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  30. "2019 Youth Media Awards". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  31. Love, Jessica (2018). Julián is a Mermaid. Candlewick Press.
  32. "Julián is a Mermaid". Jessica Love. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  33. Love, Jessica (2018). Julián at the Wedding. Candlewick Press.
  34. Love, Jessica (2023). A Bed of Stars. Candlewick Press.
  35. Thị Văn, Mượn (2022). I Love You Because I Love You. Harper Collins.
  36. Dragonwagon, Crescent (2022). Will It Be Okay?. HarperCollins.
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