I’ve been poking around Substack recently to find new resources to share with my students, and I’ve found a few I want to share here as well. Enter: Katie Dwyer, an Asheville, NC author/illustrator who’s running a Substack about making picture books.
Here’s the main Substack. She recently paused paid subscriptions and said all posts going forward would be free. Nice!
https://katiedwyerillustrations.substack.com/
And yes, she’s a dog person.
https://substack.com/@katiedwyer/note/c‑123533360
One thing that grabbed me right off is the benefit of watching someone’s process while they’re still in it. It’s great to see people in the moment explaining things vs someone twenty-mumble-mumble years out talking about it all in retrospect. She’s also refreshingly honest about what she doesn’t know yet. I can get behind the learn-with-me vibe.
She’s got a pair of picture books coming out in 2027. My guess is we’ll include one of them in OPB in some manner. (Hey, Katie–have your people talk to my people…and by “my people,” I mean me!)
Her Substack content’s more than just craft and process work. She’s got interviews too, like this one with Raissa Figueroa (love when people get real about learning new skills, burnout, etc.).
https://katiedwyerillustrations.substack.com/p/interview-with-illustrator-raissa
Another thing I like–she’s offering useful content without shoving a $399 “Become a PB Illustrator!!!” course at me every 90 seconds. I’m all for high-quality courses, but my world’s already too oppressively commercialized. I appreciate the break.
If you want even more Katie, here’s her regular website.