Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Terri Libenson

Terri Libenson is known for her New York Times Best Selling graphic novel series Emmie & Friends with four books so far: Invisible Emmie, Positively Izzy, Just Jaime and Becoming Brianna. She also is the award-winning cartoonist of the syndicated daily comic strip, The Pajama Diaries, which ran from 2006-2020 and was also an award-winning humorous card writer for American Greetings for 22 years. Terri graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BFA in illustration and a minor in art history, and has been creating art since she was a young girl. Terri is now fulfilling her lifelong passion of visual storytelling by writing and illustrating these middle grades novels. Born and raised in Kingston, PA, she lives with her husband and two daughters in Cleveland, OH. Thank you again to Terri for taking time out of her busy writing schedule to answer these interview questions for @mommylovesbooks.

Congratulations on the Emmie & friends series.  Are any of the characters inspired by real life people? 

Thank you! Absolutely. Emmie is based on myself when I was a kid: quiet, shy, and artistic. There’s still a lot of Emmie in me, so she is easy to write for. Brianna is based on my best friend growing up, who was sweet but liked to boss me around. I took some creative liberties by turning her into more of a brainiac. 

I find that graphic novels can help reluctant readers learn to love reading.  Invisible Emmie was a turning point for my now 15 year old three years ago.  I find it amazing that the characters can be so well developed in graphic novels - how do you achieve this major feat?

So gratifying to hear that EMMIE was a turning point, wow. I think visual storytelling really helps to draw in reluctant readers. I grew up reading comics, and now I read everything! So these graphic novels are a great gateway into all kinds of books. To answer your question, for me, the combination of art and writing has always been my natural storytelling outlet. Also, writing and illustrating a comic strip for many years really taught me character development and how to combine my writing and art. It’ll be an interesting experiment to see if I can write without illustrations someday.

I loved reading that your passion for art stemmed from a young age.  Was there a teacher or teachers who inspired you to follow this path into college and beyond? 

Oh, yes. I had a wonderful high school art teacher as well as a private art teacher growing up. They both nurtured my artistic skills and creativity. I was extremely lucky. I also studied illustration in college and had some great professors.

I just read that Derrick Barnes, a fellow author & illustrator had a career in greeting cards.  Are there any similarities between writing books and writing humorous greeting cards? 

Writing greeting cards really taught me how to self-edit, a valuable skill for writing books. Same with writing a comic strip. Both provided incredible training ground for becoming an author.

Do you have any hobbies? I love reading (of course!), visiting museums, running, and I’ve really gotten into cooking lately.

Would you consider going back to comic strips? 

I don’t think so. I loved writing the strip, but I’d like to focus on new projects, including more books!

Any advice for aspiring artists in high school and college? 

Sure. Just keep practicing and being persistent at whatever you do. Working with (or studying the work of) teachers or professionals you admire is a great way to find your style and passion.

Are there plans for future books? 

Yes! I’m trying my hand at a few new projects, and I’m currently illustrating book five in the Emmie & Friends series.

Very exciting new for Emmie & Friends fans. We look forward to seeing what comes next for this award-winning & New York Times Best Selling author, Terri Libenson. Thank you again.