Brian Floca
“ One of the things that interests me most about making picture books is actually trying to make all the pictures in the book work together—thinking not just about what any one picture will look like to the reader, but also about what it will feel like for the reader to travel from picture to picture.”
Brian Floca was born and raised in Temple, Texas, graduated from Brown University, received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
While a student at Brown, Brian was able to enroll in classes at the neighboring Rhode Island School of Design, including one with author and illustrator David Macaulay. That class led to an introduction to author Avi, which in turn led to Brian illustrating Avi's graphic novel City of Light, City of Dark, published by editor Richard Jackson at Orchard Books.
Brian's books as author and illustrator include Locomotive, winner of the 2014 Randolph Caldecott Medal, a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, an Orbis Pictus Honor Book, a New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Books of the Year selection, and a New York Times bestseller; Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (recently revised and expanded for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing), a Sibert Honor Book, New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Books of the Year selection, and Society of Illustrators silver medal winner; Lightship, a Sibert Honor Book and a Booklist "Top of the List" picture book; and The Racecar Alphabet, an ALA Notable Children's Book and a Kirkus Reviews Editor's Choice. His latest book is Keeping the City Going, a tribute to healthcare and other essential workers who stayed on the streets and on the job during the Covid-19 pandemic and a 2021 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books selection.
Brian has illustrated Avi's Poppy, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the six other books in the popular Poppy Stories series (including the recent Ragweed & Poppy), and Avi's novel Old Wolf. Other books he has illustrated include Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, a Sibert Honor Book, winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, and an IBBY Honor Book; Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas, by Lynne Cox; Princess Cora and the Crocodile, by Laura Amy Schlitz; and Hawk Rising, by Maria Gianferrari.
Brian regularly gives presentations on making picture books at schools, libraries, and professional conferences. He has spoken at state and regional book festivals as well as the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., and at other venues including the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Brian has spent summers painting billboards, has answered telephones and checked student IDs at Harvard University's Office of Career Services, and has taught continuing education and undergraduate classes at the School of Visual Arts. He currently writes and illustrates full-time.
Related Exhibitions: Travels with Brian Floca (2016)