Book Signing at the Frankfurt Book Fair: Shaun Tan

One of the major highlights of the Frankfurt Book Fair for me this year was the interview and book signing with Shaun Tan, known for the wordless graphic novel THE ARRIVAL and the illustrated short story collection TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA.

Shaun was interviewed by a German journalist mainly in regard to THE ARRIVAL which took Shaun 5 years to develop and illustrate. He began thinking it would be a 32 page picture book but while researching immigrant stories, be noticed how detailed they were and he realized he would have to show this detail in order to do the immigrant experience justice which would require many, many more pages (128 to be exact).

Shaun used himself as the model for the main character. He bought a suit and props and also had friends help him act out scenes so he could film them. These films as well as old photographs from the early 20th century helped him achieve the look he was going for.

After the interview, Shaun signed books for us. Daniel and I got our copies of THE ARRIVAL and TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA (a gift from Dar) signed. We had him sign them to both of us, so then Shaun joked that we'd better stay together.