✨New book Tuesday! Happy book birthday to these incredible titles! ✨ 🚌 DOING SOMETHING NEW: A Prayer For Beginnings 🗡️ HOLLOW MAGIC 🏕️ BOX TALES: Brave the Wild! All available now wherever books are sold! 📚🥳
James Burks
@jamesburks.bsky.social
Creator of Bird&Squirrel, Agent9, Boxtales (’25) and other children's books. Animation director, writer, illustrator, runner, and coffee lover. Rep’d by Kelly Sonnack | www.jamesburks.com
Box is running out to get BOX TALES: SUPER TERRIFIC SHOWTIME! Bea and Box are back, and they’re putting on a variety show. The book includes lots of laughs, and you’re not going to believe this—Bea and Box even teach you a magic trick at the end!!! Get it wherever books are sold!
My Bird & Squirrel Cartoon Network short that I worked on ages ago has finally been released by WB on YouTube. Yay!
Animation on HBO Max@animationonmax.bsky.social · 7mo agoNew Cartoon Cartoons short up on the Warner Bros. TV YouTube channel: "BIRD & SQUIRREL" created by James Burks! #CartoonCartoons youtu.be/kbdhF3yViQk
A new book deal announcement! 🥳 Congratulations to James Burks on 🐉 FIDDLE FINDER AND THE GOLDEN GOOSE CHASE, a new graphic novel series! “There's nothing more fun than a boy and a dragon solving mysteries together.” -James @jamesburks.bsky.social @ksonnack.bsky.social
One last post for tonight and that’s it. One of my favorite graphic novel series when I was a middle-school lad (besides Cleopatra in Space and Dog Man) was Bird & Squirrel by @jamesburks.bsky.social. It was filled with humor, adventure, and strong emotion; the greatest thing I’ve ever read.
This week on #24CarrotWriting Vicky Fang shares excellent advice on creating a series-worthy character and tips for developing a book series. www.24carrotwriting.com/-blog/writin... @fangmousbooks.bsky.social @candlewickpress.bsky.social @meganlitwinbooks.bsky.social @kristimahoney.bsky.social
Writing a Series-Worthy Character
Guest blog by Vicky Fang Having a main character that can drive multiple books is a key part of creating a chapter book series. But how do you create a series-worthy character? I’m...
24carrotwriting.com
I've recently been WAY off track creatively. I really connected with this @andyjpizza.bsky.social podcast and the one before it (#528) Best part? I finally got into the zone today! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Es...
Escape Your Creative Rut with This 5 Part Creative Hygiene Checklist
YouTube video by Creative Pep Talk
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Happy Wednesday! We created a starter pack of ABLA authors & illustrators just for you! We are HUGE fans of these humans. Note: We’re still adding to this list, which has been created by an enthusiastic assistant and not AI, so if you see that someone’s missing let us know! 😊 go.bsky.app/Rux2YKX
Box Tales: Grow, Strawberries, Grow! is great for kids and adults. Graphic Progeny approved! #graphicnovel #comics #kidlit @jamesburks.bsky.social @01firstsecond.bsky.social @mackidssl.bsky.social
Box Tales: Grow, Strawberries, Grow! is great for kids and adults. Graphic Progeny approved!
Beatrix and Box want to eat a million strawberries! But their only way to do it is to grow their own strawberry garden!
graphicpolicy.com
🎨 Spotlight on James Burks (@jamesburks.bsky.social)! James’s Illustrator Page James is represented by Kelly Sonnack (@ksonnack.bsky.social). He is open to picture books and black & white interiors.
Happy Book Birthday to Box Tales: Grow, Strawberries, Grow! by @jamesburks.bsky.social. This graphic novel for young readers follows Beatrix and Box as they attempt to grow their own strawberry garden 🍓🪴 bit.ly/4fkJHsR
Science is happening every day and everywhere! We are excited about our Science Saturday celebrations with three authors visiting on September 12th. 11 am: @kirstenwlarson.bsky.social 1 pm: @jamesburks.bsky.social 4 pm: @phdcomics.com www.shoponceuponatime.com/event/scienc...
🎨 Spotlight on @mikeboldt.bsky.social Mike's Illustrator Page Mike is represented by @jenrofe.bsky.social and is interested in picture books and covers.
Some stop-motion to promote my new graphic novel series, Box Tales, that launches in September from First Second.
Dance like no one is watching! Some new stop-motion animation with a character I hope to use in a future picture book idea. #stopmotion #animation
Cover reveal for the second book in my new GN series Box Tales. It'll be out on March, 3, 2026. But book 1 will be out later this year on Sept. 16.
If you're interested in how I make my graphic novels, I share quite a bit of my behind-the-scenes process on my Substack. #graphicnovels
James Burks on Substack
I needed one other vehicle for Box Tales book three, and it’s Bea’s Mom’s car. I wanted her to have an older car, so I decided on a 1970s Subaru hatchback. Sometimes, when designing a car, I will bu...
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The first step when doing thumbnails for a graphic novel about camping is to paint a yellow tree on the front of a new sketchbook. This very important step is also called PROCRASTINATION.
I haven’t had much time to post lately, I’ve been in my writing cave working on the story for BoxTales book 3 and revising the outline for my new graphic novel idea, which is going out on sub. I had some free time, so I decided to rig this character in Toonboom and do some simple animation.
Another week, another author school visit adventure. This time I'm off to New Jersey to visit two school this coming week. Looking forward to seeing the students and inspiring them to be creative. Onward!
Every single school should have a school library & a school librarian, to help every single child find the books that will make them readers, and give them all the lifelong benefits of literacy. Libraries & librarians change children's lives FOREVER! #SchoolLibrarianDay #SchoolLibraryMonth
Some highlights from my two Indiana school visits. I was shown so much love and creativity by all the students, teachers, and librarians. Thank you! I'm always amazed that the books I've created have connected with so many people all around the US and the world. I don't take any of it for granted.
After a day of traveling and hanging out in airports, I made it safely to Indiana for my upcoming author visits. I also had an interesting interaction with the rental car person at the exit gate. I'm not sure what she was talking about because my hair is the same now as it was on my license pic.
Tomorrow, I'm flying to Carmel, IN, for two author visits next week. I had originally scheduled this school visit trip back in 2020, but that pesky pandemic got in the way. Well, 5 yrs later, it's been rescheduled, and I'm looking forward to entertaining the kids with my witty book-making banter.
If you live in or near New Haven, CT, come see me this Saturday at IC3.
Matthew Schofield@steamrollerman.bsky.social · last yr.This weekend I'll be tabling at @indiecomicscreator.bsky.social with my good buddy @jamesburks.bsky.social ! I'll be selling copies of Steamroller Man #1, mini-comics and prints! Looking forward to meeting a bunch of my fellow indie comic makers in person!! I'll be in the foyer at table J4!
A good way to get to know a character is to design their space.
