Beth Mills
Alison Adkins
Beth Mills had a very boring job that didn’t involve any art before she decided she’d much rather draw and write things for kids. Beth studied illustration at the Academy of Art University, where she learned how much she loves creating characters and giving them interesting stories. Beth also likes bright colors, fun shapes, and experimenting with all kinds of art. Her picture book Ella McKeen, Kickball Queen won an ILA’s Primary Fiction Honor and the 2019 Writers League of Texas Picture Book Award. Beth lives in Texas with her family and far too many cats and dogs.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
If I have to pick just one—The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith.
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.”—Dorothy Sayers, Gaudy Night
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
It’s so hard to narrow it down to three! There are so many creators I admire. I guess Edward Gorey, David Small, and LeUyem Pham.
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I am both an author and illustrator, but I came into this career via illustration. My whole life, I’ve always felt like my truest self when drawing or painting. Despite that fact, it took me a long time and a few different jobs (where I would doodle on any spare paper) to realize that “illustrator” is an actual career that people have that I could pursue. I subsequently realized that there was nothing else out there that I’d rather be doing. Then I decided that I should probably write, too, mostly so that I could write stories around whatever weird thing I doodled and possibly get paid to share it with the world.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Read, read, read and draw, draw, draw! Learn as much as you can about the industry and connect with other authors and illustrators—the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a great group of wonderful people and a lot of resources. Finally, keep going. Pretty much everyone gets a whole bunch of “no’s” before they get their first “yes”. Do the work to make your art and/or your writing the best it can be anyways.
