As I mentioned in my post on Monday, I am thinking of you all and hoping you stay well and safe during the pandemic. I had drafted this blog post over a month ago, back when the world was a different place. I thought about not posting it today. But I am so proud of this project and how it's affected the world in a positive way, that I decided to go ahead. Especially during troubling times, celebrations are still important!
It's been exactly two years since A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo was published!
This book broke all of the rules: it was created in secret, published on a Sunday night (most US books are published on a Tuesday), and was created by a BUNNY, guys! Along with Jill Twiss and EG Keller, of course.
This book:
shot to the top of bestseller lists everywhere in its first week
was the theme of a wedding photo shoot
is featured on a tattoo on an actual person's body
was a Jeopardy question!
made it onto 2019's Top 10 Challenged Books list!
raised money for very important charities: The Trevor Project (a charity for LGBTQ+ youth) and AIDS United
and (OOPS!) outperformed the book it parodied.
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo became a keystone of the cultural zeitgeist; a pro-LGBTQ+ rights keystone at that. The book challenges kids and their grown-ups to think critically about the anti-queer stance, and to promote love and inclusion at all costs. To say I am proud and humbled to have worked as Project Manager and Editor on this book is an understatement.
The #1 question I am asked about A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo is: has working on it changed your business?
My answer always is, "I'm not entirely sure." But thinking more about the past two years since this book was published, a lot of good stuff has happened. And a few of those things can probably be traced back to that day in October 2017, when my business was only one month old, and I got a call from a producer at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Thing 1) When prospective clients come knocking on my door for a picture book critique or a self-publishing venture, it's because they've researched me and my work. Quite a few of them have told me they "love that Marlon Bundo book." But I'm never sure if that's exactly why they want to work with me. However, when I describe to prospective self-publishing clients how I worked with multiple parties to get the book completed within a time frame of six weeks (start-to-finish), that shows I can project manage a book on a (very) tight schedule.
Thing 2) I started working with my agents at Painted Words, largely due to the wonderful experience we had working together on Bundo. Lori and Claire, now my agents, also represent EG Keller - the amazing artist who illustrated A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. Lori and I even got to attend the filming of the John Oliver show where they released the book - we both brought our sisters!
By the way, I had my eye on EG to do the art for this book from the word "go," knowing he'd be the perfect choice. Which brings me to...
Thing 3) EG and I are collaborators on another picture book, but this time I'm an author! More details to come soon (you know the publishing industry loves to keep secrets for a VERY long time!), but I think it's supposed to publish sometime next year.
I know that when folks look at my business card and see that gorgeous, fluffy gay bunny there in all his glory, I get a visceral response, usually one of pure joy and delight.
And while working on a high-profile, worthy and worthwhile book like
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo might not change my business at all, it certainly changed my life.
One of my favorite things is to get stuck into a long-term (or quick-turnaround) project with a picture book creator. Feel free to reach out to me at allibrydoncreative@gmail.com to discuss the particulars of your special project, or just to gush over cute animals.