Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao (幾米) has enjoyed unparalleled success over the past decade in East Asia, but his recent collaborations with British and American publishers on children’s books show that his drawings speak a universal language that transcends cultural barriers.
The author-illustrator, known popularly as “Jimmy,” started his career depicting the lives of ordinary people coping with the modern urban world, and works based on that theme became big hits in Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and many other Asian markets over the last 10 years.
Building on that success, he has now turned to illustrating children’s books written by English-language writers.
His first collaboration with a US publisher, I Can be Anything, was published last month, his agent Lee Yusan (李雨珊) said.
He hopes it will earn him the same acclaim as his first project in the West, The Monster Who Ate Darkness, published last year by UK-based publisher Walker Books for children above three years old.
Written by English author Joyce Dunbar, the book tells the story of a tiny monster that lives under a child’s bed and discovers it likes to eat darkness.
At a previous press conference, the illustrator said that drawing for children has always been his dream, and his output reflects his passion.
His abundant creativity came through in I Can Be Anything, an imaginative joyride about hopes and dreams, written by Newbery-Award winning American author Jerry Spinelli and published by Little, Brown and Company.
And there’s more to come.
“Readers will not need to wait too long to see Jimmy’s third work, which has been completed and sent to Walker Books,” said Lee, who has promoted Jimmy’s art and related products in other parts of Asia.
In addition to pitching his books, Lee is also organizing a “Jimmy art center” in Taipei that plans to incorporate the illustrator’s art and ideas in the center’s design and decor.
The major turning point in Jimmy’s life — and work — came 15 years ago, when he was diagnosed with leukemia.
As a result, his depictions of people became proportionally smaller, a recognition that although individuals cannot change the world, they can face life and the world with grace and a positive attitude.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS