Nazli Tarcan's "What Emma Wrote" gets a Star

We’re delighted to announce that the School Library Journal awarded Nazli Tarcan’s “What Emma Wrote” with a star. 

The story is about Emma Lazarus, the poet whose words are written on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. She was much more than a poet – she was someone who truly cared about human rights and about people less fortunate. Much of her work was for the Jewish refugee community but Nazli preferred to see her from a wider, more human point of view: a woman standing up for people in need.

We asked Nazli to share a bit more about the project and what it meant to her to illustrate this outstanding title:

"This book is very special to me. It is my first traditionally published book and my second collaboration with Illo Agency.

Since this is a non-fiction book, I had to do a lot of research. I explored 19th-century New York, the life of the upper class where Emma grew up, and also the very difficult conditions of the refugees arriving at that time. I found old photographs of Emma and even of her father, and I used them as direct references to draw them as realistically as possible. In the book, we also see many real places where Emma lived or visited, which helped me stay close to reality.

What I loved the most in this project is how much I learned while working on it. It is always a joy when a book teaches you about history, people, and life while working on it.

In the images, we move between two very different worlds: Emma’s comfortable life and the harsh life of the refugees she supported. I tried to show this strong contrast clearly. The time period and the emotion of the story naturally brought me to use more earthy and muted colors, and I am very happy with how it turned out.

Emma Lazarus was a very strong woman who did important things in a time when women were not expected to do much in public life. Through her character, I tried to show her determination and her quiet strength."

If you’d like to work with Nazli, please contact: [email protected]

At illo agency, we pride ourselves in representing a collation of global illustrators, distinctly diverse in creativity and uniquely celebrated by like-minded clients across a range of commercial markets.