Kazu Kibuishi Headlines MS Writer's Symposium

Middle schoolers had a treat last week when Kazu Kibuishi, author of the acclaimed graphic novel series, Amulet, dropped by for the Writer’s Symposium. He spent the better part of two days on campus, giving a talk to the entire MS body, and then spending time in Rachel Anne Bradbury’s seventh-grade English class.

Spending time in schools wasn’t what Kibuishi first thought he’d be doing when he became a writer. It wasn’t until he met other authors that he understood the connection. “This is the end of the line here,” explains Kibuishi, talking about how his creations end up on the book shelves in the bedrooms and classrooms of middle school students. “I know where the books go just by listening to whatever they’re in to, or whatever issues of the day there are. They will be honest with me and tell me. It makes me feel like I know how to do my job. This is where the books will go.”

Kibuishi’s career path didn’t track along a straight line. Due to family situations, he and his brother were forced to face the adult world much earlier than most. Kibuishi’s parents filed for bankruptcy when he was still in school, which forced him to hit the job market sooner than anticipated. That landed Kibuishi eventually in two different careers that each could be viewed as successful, just maybe just not his idea of success. For example, one job was working for an architecture firm as the senior graphic designer. Some might say it was a dream job, just not his dream job. “I was taking up someone else’s seat.”

That idea of fluidity in careers and the willingness to not hold on to success too tightly is a valuable lesson for our students to hear. “I have seen some people hold on to success at the cost of learning something new and every time I see that I think they’re in for some trouble when the world changes, because it will,” explains Kibuishi. “Every few years there’s a shift and everything is disrupted. It’s musical chairs all over again, and if you don’t have the tools to move to the next chair, you’re not going to find it. I’ve just tried to coach the people I know around me to be flexible enough that when that happens you’re going to be okay in the next station.”

Growing up surfing and skateboarding in southern California is perhaps where Kibuishi gets his laid-back approach. Even his artwork is fluid and full of movement. You can see his work here at his official website boltcity.com. He views everything as if he were looking through a camera lens. Kibuishi led Bradbury’s class on a drawing exercise involving creating 3-D cubes stacked one upon another. This is how he trains his brain to begin to see imagery in 3-D on the page when he’s illustrating his graphic novels.

Speaking of his novels, the Amulet series is a nine-book series. The eighth installment is due out on Sept. 25. The series, while highly popular with the middle school crowd, is read by all ages. “I think my books are all ages,” says Kibuishi. “I wouldn’t want to exclude anybody from reading the book (Amulet). Having something that grandparents could enjoy with their grandkids, that was the goal. That was it from the very start. I just thought we are lacking that in entertainment, overall.”

And while Kibuishi is currently spending some down time between books touring schools, he’s also thinking ahead to when the Amulet series is over. He would like to create a companion piece to the school tour he does. Perhaps the content here is close fodder to the upcoming book!