Picture Book Author-Illustrator Leslie Helakoski
This week’s Writer Wednesday features author-illustrator Leslie Helakoski of Bergland, Michigan and Lafayette, Louisiana! Leslie is the author and illustrator of 13 picture books and has been writing and illustrating for 20 years. She was recently awarded the 2020 Gwen Frostic Award from the Michigan Reading Association for her role in influencing literacy. Leslie also works as a writing coach and provides manuscript critique services.
Leslie is one of our guest judges for the Children's Book Manuscript category in The Detroit Writing Room Awards! Submit your work by Sept. 3 at detroitwritingroom.com/awards.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
I love when I have the basic storyline for a new book planned out. Then it is time to play with the text and find the perfect words to tell the tale. Some writers might not like rewriting the same sentence or stanza over and over and over, but when I find the exact words that work, or make me laugh, it makes me ridiculously happy.
What do your writing and art workspaces look like?
I have a small room with an old card catalog, a comfy chair and a large desk where I paint and write. It also houses my collection of picture books and has windows that look out toward the Bayou Vermilion. I need space to paint and spread out all my pastels, but one of my favorite things about writing is that I can write anywhere: living room, coffee shop, Lake Superior beach, and my favorite, our cottage deck overlooking Lake Gogebic in the summer.
Do you draw from your own childhood experiences when crafting stories for children?
Many times, yes. One of my early books, “Big Chickens,” is totally autobiographical. All the things that happen to those chickens did indeed happen to me. But other books like “Are Your Stars Like My Stars?” or “Woolbur” pull from other aspects of my life as an adult with and around children. I worked for a time at a Montessori school which is where I met up with kids like Woolbur, who remind us to honor those who think in different ways.
What is your favorite non-writing hobby?
Since I sit so much when I’m writing or painting, I try to balance that out by being active. I play pickleball, hike and kayak whenever I can. Luckily, Michigan’s upper peninsula is filled with trails and waterways.
What is your favorite piece of creative advice?
Don’t be a Big Chicken! Almost every writer I know has started out feeling like they could not actually do this. And many of us still feel that way. (Pwock pwock!).
What projects are you currently working on?
I'm just finishing a picture book deal with FSG (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). It hasn't been announced yet, but I'm excited about it. I’m also working on a chapter book that’s almost finished and a mid-grade novel with no end in sight. It’s very different than working on picture books, but I like the change of pace and the levels that keep popping up and asking to be entwined.
Follow Leslie on Instagram at @helakoskibooks and check out her work at helakoskibooks.com.