BIG NEWS: I illustrated a book!
Friends, I have big news to share with you today: I have a book coming out on October 24! You can scroll down below to find links and more details, but I’d love to share the book’s story with you. My involvement still feels like a real-life fairy tale.
Last spring, I was doing my usual thing: writing articles about farming for Growing for Market, going back and forth with a publisher about my proposal for a book about farming and parenting, and drawing funny little illustrations of vegetables to share on Instagram. Those drawings were a way for me to keep exploring different ways of communicating about plants, plus they made me very happy and seemed to make others smile too. I did the dutiful Instagram-user thing and put hashtags on them, even though word-on-the-street was that hashtags were “dead” these days.
Putting things out into the world is pretty magical. Because, late last April I got an email from at editor at Thames & Hudson — a UK-based publisher — asking if I’d be interested in illustrating a book about edible plants using the style I had posted on Instagram. A BOOK!
I admit it: I read the email twice and then screamed. My kids came running, thinking something horrible had happened. I just couldn’t believe it. My Instagram posts had put my art in the path of this fabulous book team working on a project so very near and dear to my heart.
Even though this book would represent a giant jump in my career and require lots of (potentially scary) growth, I said yes of course!
I soon met with the editor, the two wonderful (plant-loving!) authors, and eventually the brilliant book designer too. We worked on this book over the second half of last year, and I learned so much along the way. My daily affirmation was “I have the stamina to finish really big projects!” Because, let me tell you, it was a big project for me. Seventy plants with multiple illustrations for each — over 150 illustrations total. Because these are plants from around the world, I had to learn new ways of researching so that I could see the plant from all angles and draw my own representation of it, in my unique style, while still retaining botanical accuracy.
I had SO. MUCH. FUN.
Honestly I feel a little self-conscious telling you all of this in this tone. I feel like I should be more “cool” about my first book and act like “of COURSE I have a book, because I am a VERY professional illustrator and have expected this outcome.”
But the reality is: 1) I’m not at all good at playing cool when I’m excited about things. 2) I’m still pinching myself that I got to be a part of this project. I’d certainly hoped to do something like this someday, but this particular project and the timing came as a surprise! 3) I think it’s important to share stories of how things actually happen. Putting ourselves out there publicly can be hard and uncomfortable, but it’s the only way the world will know what we have to offer. I want to encourage others with dreams to make them public.
Social media is definitely a mixed bag, but it does help people connect around the world who have shared passions. Thank you to the authors Kevin Hobbs and Artur Cisar-Erlach as well as everyone at Thames & Hudson.
Without further ado, I’m sure you want to meet our book. Together, we made this beautiful, fascinating, important book exist in the world:
Photos by Shawn Linehan
“An illustrated celebration of sustainable and often little-known edible plants from around the world that are revolutionizing how we grow, eat, and appreciate food.”
If you love to eat, cook or grow plants (which I’m betting is everyone on my email list), you will love this book. It truly is a celebration of plant life, as well of diversity and resilience. There are plants from many different food traditions, and each fascinating edible plant is described and illustrated. The book is beautifully printed — coffee table quality with an embossed cover. It’d make a wonderful holiday gift for gardeners, farmers and foodies. Perhaps you might just want to buy it as a gift for yourself to get inspired over the winter!
Edible’s U.S. release date is October 24. It is available to pre-order wherever you buy books. Here are some suggestions:
For folks local to me, I encourage you to pre-order from Third Street Books in McMinnville, Oregon.
If you are not in my area and you’d like to further support my work, you can pre-order using my affiliate link on BookShop.org. (I will get a bit of extra if you buy that way and you will help support independent booksellers too! Thank you!)
And of course, I’m sure your local bookstore would love to order Edible for you too!
Thank you for celebrating this exciting story with me! And I hope that you will get your hands on Edible this fall and savor all the knowledge and beauty it contains. Here are few more inside images …
Quillisascut Farm School
In other news, last week I went on my first solo overnight trip since becoming a mother. My oldest is 13, so this is clearly overdue! I spent four nights at Quillisascut Farm School of the Domestic Arts in Northeastern Washington state, participating in a food writing workshop hosted by the talented authors Kate Lebo and Sam Ligon.
I just got home on Sunday evening, so I am still very much processing everything that happened during my stay at Quillisascut, where I ate some of the best food of my life, met wonderful people, wrote some new pieces, and generally reconnected with myself more as a writer and person in the world. I got filled up in every way and am going to carry that inspiration into the remainder of the summer, fall, and beyond.
Thank you to the Quillisascut Education Fund Board for the scholarship that made it possible for me to attend. The farm school aims to make their immersive farming and cooking experience accessible to all, especially to culinary students and food professionals who go there to get a deeper understanding of ingredients and their source. The workshops are life changing. If you’d like to help financially support their work so that more people can participate, please contact Lora Lea Misterly.
I can’t recommend the Quillisascut experience enough. They offer a wide variety of workshops, including a “Slow Living Autumn Gather” happening October 5-8. Check it out! To make you hungry, here are some photos from my recent stay …
All the food served at Quillisascut is sourced from the farm itself or nearby farms in the region!
Recently on the podcast
I’ve had three interesting interviews on the Growing for Market magazine podcast this last month:
Rachel Van Boven (Farm Aid hotline operator) and Anne Schwartz (farmer, Blue Heron Farm) and I talked about farm stress, coping strategies and resources. Such a big and important topic.
Tara Chapman (Two Hives Honey) shared about her journey starting her honey and agritourism/teaching business outside of Austin, Texas.
Lane Selman (Culinary Breeding Network) and I talked about connecting farmers, seed breeders and chefs to develop and find the best (and tastiest) varieties of vegetables.
You can listen (and subscribe!) on any podcast app or go to the GFM website to listen or get more info from the show notes for each episode. New episodes drop every Tuesday — Andrew’s interviews are also fascinating! There are so many diverse stories to be told about the world of market farming!
We’ve talked with so many interesting guests on the podcast this month!
Thank you for listening to my big news and updates. In addition to all of these illustrating/writing/podcasting happenings, we’re of course doing all the summer things out on the farm and as a family — hiking, eating ridiculously good food, harvesting to sell at Blue Goat’s new farm market, moving irrigation pipe, riding bikes, swimming in the river (we saw otters last month!), visiting with old friends, making s’mores, getting bit by mosquitoes while making s’mores …
This time of summer feels like a paradox on the farm — the plant life is bursting with maturing fruit and we have so much to harvest. And yet … there’s a feeling of quiet too. The birds have quieted their dawn choruses. The warm air during the day often feels still and like it is waiting. Grasses have gone dormant and turned yellow. Even though this is very much summer, it feels like the beginning of autumn too as the color of the light and landscape begin their shift to gold and we begin to bring in harvests — garlic, onions, soon to be followed by winter squashes and potatoes and more. It’s a pause and yet it’s a time of great movement. It’s a very August feeling. (Of course, the heat wave this week also makes it feel like August too!)
I’m enjoying it very much (except maybe the heat), especially as I know now summer is waning quickly. The next few weeks will be very full as we try to savor it all and also begin to prepare ourselves for another cold season.
How about you? What do you love about August? And, stay cool (or at least hydrated) out there!
With gratitude,
Katie
P.S. Now that you’re done reading, just one last reminder to pre-order Edible! Thank you! I know you will love it!