Baek Heena – laureate 2020 1
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award W hat were you lik
e as a child? – When I was a child I lived entirely in my own fantasy world. I liked to draw and I could spend entire days playing alone with my dolls. And I still do. The only difference now is that my play results in picture books. How do you get ideas for your books? – I try not to create a subject. I focus on the ‘joy’ that I want the reader to experience. I look for things that might entertain readers. I try not to think, ‘This has to be a masterpiece!’ I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on myself. Usually, the story takes shape first. Then I create the text and the pictures in tandem with one another. They work together to tell the story. You used to make animated films. Does that experience come through in your books? – Filmmaking taught me how to tell a story in visual way. I got interested in trying various materials and mediums to make the story more attractive. In film, the director makes use of a variety of camera angles, and I adopted that approach in making my books. ‘I try not to create a subject. I focus on the ‘joy’ that I want the reader to experience.’ Pi-ya-ghi Eomma (‘Little Chick Pee-Yakis Mum’, Storybowl, 2011) 10