SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

April 12, 2016 by Travis Jonker

5 Questions with John Bemelmans Marciano

April 12, 2016 by Travis Jonker   Leave a Comment

Benevento 1

I recently talked to John Bemelmans Marciano about his new series with illustrator (and reigning Caldecott Medal winner) Sophie Blackall.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Travis: Why witches? Why Benevento? What was the spark that let to this new series?

John: While in Naples in the early 2000s, I came across a paragraph in a guidebook about a nearby town famous for its witches. I took a bus to Benevento and explored around, then wrote a short treatment when I got back to Brooklyn. I knew I had a great setting; what I didn’t have was a story. Fast forward twelve years: Sophie and I are having a meeting to discuss ideas for a project to work on, and I tell her about these witches. She loves it. Immediately. She was full of ideas for what to do with it, story-wise.

Benevento Map

The basic series concept came together remarkably quickly—like over a single cup of coffee. (The rest of it has taken considerably longer.)

You and Sophie work in the same studio. Did this collaboration grow out of that?

Even before we had a studio together, Viking hired Sophie to illustrate The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield, a middle-grade book I had written.

Alexander Baddenfield

The process on 9 Lives was relatively traditional—I wrote, Sophie illustrated—but there was enough back and forth to whet our appetite for doing a true collaboration, a series in which we created the characters and stories together, and did books equally weighted between word and image.

Witches of Benevento

The design and production on these books is beautiful. Did you have a vision of how the books should look? Or was that part out of your hands?

The designer, Nancy Brennan, did a fantastic job on the books. Sophie’s initial vision for the series was that each book would be small enough to fit in a young reader’s hands—she really wanted kids to have ownership over the books. The laying out of the book was a joint process between me and Sophie, and one of the most satisfying parts of the collaboration. We sat in the studio cutting lines of text and taping them up page by page, with Sophie sketching on overlays.

Benevento Spread Stairs

When she couldn’t get the images and the text to work together, I either cut or added lines to make it work.

Benevento Spread Fortune

What’s one thing you need in order to write?

Time! With a six-and-a-half-year-old daughter and a seventy-pound puppy who needs endless walks, there never seems to be enough of it. (Coffee is a close second.)

What’s one children’s book you love that not many people know about?

Oh, that’s hard! I have a real soft spot for obscure kid’s books.

Who's got the apple

The first thing that comes to mind is Where’s the Apple by Jan Lööf (a perfect picture book), but for true love and complete obscurity, I’d have to go with Mimi Brennan’s The Golden Egg: A Comic Adventure.

Golden Egg

It’s the earliest graphic novel-picture book I’ve ever come across: an ambitious, sprawling, and silly epic for young readers.

I was hoping you’d name some books I hadn’t seen – looking forward to checking both of these out. 

Thanks for taking my questions, John.

In case you missed it, here’s John and Sophie Blackall talking about the series:

Filed under: Authors

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

November 2022

Kyle Lukoff is on The Yarn Podcast!

by Travis Jonker

November 2022

Cover Reveal Q&A: SOME OF THESE ARE SNAILS by Carter Higgins

by Travis Jonker

October 2022

Cover Reveal Q&A: A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton

by Travis Jonker

September 2022

Q&A Giveaway: A VERY BIG FALL by Emmy Kastner

by Travis Jonker

August 2022

Over on The Yarn: Amy Sarig King

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Who’s Published the Most Newbery Winners in the Last 25 Years?

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

That Flag: An Interview with Tameka Fryer Brown

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Who Will Win? 2023 Newbery Predictions

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Looking Ahead: Our 2023 Preview

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Changing the Narrative | The Year in SLJ Covers

Luminous Review, Twitter Exodus, and a Thoughtful Airport Encounter | Readers Respond

The hOle Story: Kids’ Books Come to Life on a Giant Scale at a New Kansas City Venue

Ellen Oh, Linda Sue Park, and Ami Polonsky Speak Out Against Censorship at Florida School Board Meeting

Truth Teller, A. S. King | The Year in SLJ Covers

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023