BIG NEWS: PandaErica is now represented by Marietta Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency! š
This feels like a dream come true. š«
Growing up, I was obsessed with Sailor Moon and spent my childhood in Walt Disney Worldās orbit, convinced Iād become a Disney artist someday. That was the story I told my family when I went to Ringling College of Art and Design for Illustrationābut secretly, I dreamed of becoming a mangaka like Naoko Takeuchi. My bedroom walls were covered in fan art of original Sailor Soldiers inspired by me and my best friendās middle school imaginations.
In college, a childrenās book history elective reignited my love for picture books and comics. Mentors like Doug Chayka, George Pratt, Paula Jawitz, and Tom Casmer helped guide me toward childrenās publishing.
After graduating, I moved to New York City and was lucky to work under legendary art director Martha Rago. I immersed myself in the kidlit worldājoining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, attending conferences, and finding an incredible creative community. Iāve had the pleasure of speaking on panels, reviewing portfolios, and leading workshops at various industry conventions and events, where I met mentors, friends, and other creatives who inspired me. Thank you, Books of Wonder, for allowing me to meet my hi sci-fi idol, Brandon Sanderson, and his kind editor at Tor when they released his book The Rithmatist. Thank you, the Met Museum, for hosting an event with Oliver Jeffers, where I took a cool pic with him and got a couple of books autographed. I once wrote an email to him asking if I could be his Brooklyn studio assistant and if he had any advice for an aspiring author-illustrator like me when I was still a struggling, jobless grad. He took the time to write the kindest reply and gave such poignant advice:
Experiment and practice. Be disciplined and determined. Work hard and be prepared to hear "no" a lot.
I printed this email out and framed it. Iām always in awe of the limitless kindness, hope, and pay-it-forward spirit that can be found within the kidlit community.
Through a collection of uncanny coincidences, I landed my first indie-published book project with Electric Eggplant after tweeting some art with the SCBWI winter conference hashtag and following through with a direct email query to the publishers. This led to The Girlsā Q&A Book on Friendship by Ann Fox. In my role as a book designer, I hired the talented Violet Lemay on a couple of nonfiction picture books, and she, in return, hired me for my first published sticker book, The Future Is Ours: Feminist Stickers to Express Yourself by DuoPress Labs. And it was through my SCBWI Illustrator portfolio page that the authors of Mighty May Wonāt Cry Today found my art and decided to hire me for my self-published picture book debut.
Marietta is one of the many kind souls Iāve met on my journey. She had offered to review any of my stories whenever I felt ready to send them to her earlier in my careerāmaybe too early? I didnāt feel ready at the time, and after many years had passed, she bravely asked me again: āWas I represented, and if not, would I like to talk about it?ā In 2024, I did feel more confident and had a picture book dummy about a dog and his boy ready to share. That same dummy is now on submission. Itās been a whirlwind getting to today, but Iām so excited for this opportunity. Iām excited to work hard to get my stories and books out into the world. Thanks for sticking around to see where this winding path takes me next, Panda folks!