27 Sep Author, Translator, Publisher Lawrence Schimel on Book Hunting and Much More (S2 E21)
By Marleen Seegers, Co-Founder of 2 Seas Agency and Host of The Make Books Travel Podcast
September 27, 2021
Lawrence Schimel
Welcome to another episode of the Make Books Travel Podcast!
Usually I give a short introduction on the person that I’ll be interviewing on this episode. However, as you’re about to find out, it is a seemingly impossible task to do so for today’s guest Lawrence Schimel, as he wears a multitude of hats. Author, Translator and Publisher are just a few of them…
Here are some of the questions I asked Lawrence:
- Which of your many skills did you start out with?
- How, and when, did the others develop? Was it intentionally, or did it simply take an organic course?
- Even though they’re all related, how do you keep up with all the work these three different jobs entail?
- What does a typical work day look like for you?
- Do you dedicate certain hours/days to one specific job only?
- One of your board books recently made the international publishing news after it faced censorship in Hungary because of its LGBTQ theme. Do you mind telling us more about this?
- What measures did the Hungarian government take?
- How did you find out about it?
- How did your publisher deal with it, and were you involved in the process?
- Have you had to deal with similar issues in other countries?
- The number of translations you’ve obtained for your children’s books is truly impressive.
- How many are there at this point?
- What according to you makes these books so universally appreciated?
- Did you attend the recent in-person Madrid Book Fair?
- What was it like?
- What is your favorite book fair, and why?
- Which book fair that you haven’t been to yet tops your wish list?
Show Notes
- Lawrence’s book recommendations:
– Alex Pavesi’s The Eighth Detective
- About Lawrence:
Lawrence Schimel (New York, 1971) is a full-time author, writing in both Spanish and English, who has published over one hundred books in a wide range of genres. He is also a prolific literary translator. His picture books have been selected for the White Ravens from the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany, twice chosen for IBBY’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities, and won a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and illustrators, among many other awards, honors, and distinctions.
His writing has been published in Arabic, Armenian, Basque, Catalan, Changana, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Farsi (Dari), Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Macua, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romansh, Romanian, Russian, Sena, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Welsh translations.
He started the Spain chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and served as its Regional Advisor for five years.
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