Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurel Aylesworth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Laurel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?

I have a wonderful agent, Essie White, of Storm Literary Agency. She’s been instrumental in securing three book deals, guiding me through the details of contracts, and being a sounding board for advice on the industry and on any book dummies I’m creating. I’d been working for years to get signed with an agent. I went to SCBWI conferences, took classes, honed my craft, but nothing was happening. After feeling pretty discouraged and wondering if I should move on to something else, I decided to sign up for the Summer SCBWI Summer Conference and uploaded my portfolio for the showcase. The portfolio showcase is a chance to get your work in front of industry professionals. But, it was yet more money thrown at this….hobby? It was my Hail Mary before calling it quits. Then, I got an email from Essie which changed everything. She asked if I’d like to sign with her agency, and I happily said yes.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a children’s book illustrator who lives in Rhode Island with my husband, two girls, and a dog and a cat who barely tolerate each other. I specialize in picture books, but I would love to illustrate middle grade book covers and black and white interiors too. I grew up pretty introverted, so I’d spend hours copying images I’d seen in Arthur Rackham books or even comic books. I was fascinated with fairies and elves and all things magic. Later in life, I spent many years attempting to adult: trying on various jobs to see if they’d stick. A writer for a bank, a graphic designer, a marketing assistant in an architectural firm. But all of these jobs comprised of a lot of boring, mundane, eye gouging work. Don’t get me started on the cubicles.

I was still seeking my purpose.

After my girls were born, we’d basically live at the local library taking out stacks of picture books. This is where I learned what made a good story. What didn’t. And especially, I could see myself making them. As a daughter of an artist I had a natural artistic bent, but I needed guidance. I knew nothing about children’s book publishing, so I found SVS Learn. I took online classes, joined their community and found critique partners, and eventually developed a portfolio I wasn’t ashamed to share. I joined SCBWI and attended several of their conferences and I was hooked.

Soon after joining with my agent at Storm Literary Agency, I started working on picture books: My House My Family, The Blue Canoe, and Chalk the Walk.

I’m in love with the process of creating. When I make art, when it’s finished, I send it out into the world and don’t really think about it ever again. It’s the ideation, the dwelling of possibility, the loose, terrible sketches in the beginning phases that is such a pleasure to live in. Then there’s the flow of creating when you’re in the zone, and then the inevitable days where you swear you forgot how to draw. This happens each time, and I’ve come to appreciate and by humbled by the creative process.

As a kid, stories transported me somewhere else when times weren’t so great. To be able to connect to a child through art…to invite them into another world where anything is possible, where they see themselves reflected back to them….there’s magic in that and I’m honored to be part of it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As a professional artist you kinda get full of yourself. You have to create work, market yourself, learn how to survive financial droughts or creative ruts. You can get into an echo chamber of self-centeredness. That’s why it’s helpful to remember your audience. Recently, I saw a video on YouTube by a girl who did a read-aloud of my book Chalk the Walk. To take that moment and see the book through their eyes reminded me this isn’t entirely about me. It’s about supporting the story and about guiding children through art and help them spark their own imagination. Seeing a child connect with something you’ve created is the best possible reward.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am currently in a pivot. With the political climate such as it is, there are fewer picture book offers, and even book stores have to be more selective in their titles. I’ve had to supplement my art career with other gigs so I found myself becoming a freelance audiobook narrator. I’m also currently developing a venture that combines illustration and narration, but that’s for another interview when that’s up and running.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.laurelaylesworth.com
• Instagram: laurelaylesworth
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093169668402
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurelaylesworth/
• Other: Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/laurelillo.bsky.social