Deep Dives with Merfolx: A Splashing Interview with Paul D Kellam

Deep Dive with a Merman: 

Interview with Paul D Kellam

The illustrator of countless books, ranging many genres like The Little Mermaid: Make a Splash by Ashley Franklin and You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!) by Taraji P. Henson to the Coral Keeper series by Robin Yardi, Paul D Kellam has made a SPLASH on the scene with as much energy and vibrancy as his artwork. 

But before we "dive in," Paul,  tell the reader a little about yourself, in your own words.

Hi I’m Paul (insert Jimmy Neutron Monkey)! 

I’m a full-time freelance artist based in Florida. I’ve drawn for as long as I can remember, my mom often reflects on how I crayon doodled on my nursery walls and even had the nerve to sign my name. I grew up loving all things animated, with ‘The Little Mermaid’ on constant repeat; but once I discovered ‘Avatar the Last Airbender’ I knew I wanted to work in the creative field. I practiced diligently, filling stacks of sketchbooks with ink and colored pencil before teaching myself to work digitally. 

At 16 I bought my first Bamboo Tablet to illustrate my first kids book, which was horrendous but a great learning experience. I later polished my skills in college, earning my Bachelors in Media Arts and Animation; but quickly found myself more at home with book illustrations.

Your work explodes with color, movement, "flow and rhythm," something I love and am inspired by! You and I have spoken a bit about it, but I would love to hear about your process and what inspires you as an illustrator?

My process is not always streamlined, but I always aim for my art to dance off the page through movement and color. My compositions typically use a lot of “S” and triangle shapes to help lead the eyes of the viewer; as well as gradients with focal points being the most saturated bits. I’m heavily inspired by nature, haute couture, and people that I cherish. A lot of the snarky expression I draw are basically a mirror of me with my younger sisters, haha.

Bursting with color, your books also brim with a range of beautiful, colorful, and diverse characters. What are some of your thoughts and feelings when it comes to representation and why do you think it is important?

Representation is beyond important, and I’m glad I’ve had ranging opportunities to depict various ethnicities and disabled folks as well! We have so many unique people in the world who feel invisible still to this day, and it’s amazing especially for children to feel seen in media, truly. It encourages hope and possibility; showing miraculous experiences are not limited to any one specific group.

I believe community is key to a healthy and fulfilling life, no matter what area of your life it appears in. I consider you a big part of my art community or mermaid pod, if you will. Your generous spirit is such a light and I know you've cheered me on when I needed that extra push. Can you speak a bit about community, how it has shaped you and why it is essential to the process?

I’m quite the hermit crab, so finding a sense of community outside of contained spaces like school or work life can be rather difficult. Social media thankfully allowed me to connect with many like-minded creators. Specifically in the ‘Mermay’ community I’ve befriended lots of brilliantly sweet and creative people, like yourself, whom I’ve truly appreciated having in my mer-pod! It’s been such a beautiful experience bonding with artist who’ve uplifted and inspired me with their different approaches to their own art and life. I’ve had many friends show me better creative tactics I hadn’t considered, and I’m glad I’ve been able to help others as well!

To see you occupy the spaces you do, in the way you do, with style, energy and sheer joyfulness, is revolutionary on so many levels. What would you say to younger Paul and how do you think he'd feel seeing you today?

Honestly one of the greatest parts of working in children’s illustration is rediscovering the warmth and exhilaration I felt when creating as a young artist. To Lil’ Paul I’d say continue to be you, and be so much louder and bolder about it too! The ability to create authentically is such a gift and no one else will do it like you. Your art can change the world for the better, for good, even! I think he’d be overjoyed to see all the lives our work has touched throughout our journey, it’s no-longer just little anime sketchbook doodles. Though, in classic Capricorn fashion he’d wonder what’s next, lol.

Though I know you and I are merpeople in our souls, if you were to sprout a tail right this second, what would it look like?

I imagine my natural tail color would be a sort of turquoise-y jade with gold flecks, but my scales would hue shift to varied jewel tones based off my moods. I just love colors so much! What would yours be?

Thank you so much, Paul, for joining us on the Official SCBWI Blog. I'm excited to see what the future holds for you! Your art has been such a joy to witness and I'm alway SAT for what you will share next! 

Check out more about Paul D Kellam, HERE and give this fabulous merperson a FOLLOW on IG! 

World Kid Lit Month: Retranslating a Classic

Pinocchio. The Little Prince. The Little Mermaid. All of these stories have been translated into English not once, but many times (from Italian, French, and Danish, respectively). Children’s literature includes an array of classic works available in multiple translations, perfected at different times by different translators for different audiences. 

Multiple translations are a bounty for readers, who can explore and compare their favorite books in various forms. This translation might be quieter, that one more dramatic, another one set at a brisk tempo, and still another one more andante.

I have learned that actually performing a retranslation gets me a bit, well, nervosa. As I was translating Sachiko Kashiwaba’s Kiri no mukō no fushigi na machi as The Village Beyond the Mist for US release in 2025, I thought constantly about a predecessor: The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist, translated by Christopher Holmes and published in Japan in 1987. 

The Holmes translation published by Kodansha. Note the translator cover credit!

Though never distributed internationally before going out of print, this translation has become a collector's item available both abroad and at home. I owned a copy myself before giving it to an editor more than ten years ago, when I was pitching Kashiwaba’s work for publication in the US. The Marvelous Village Veiled in Mist was then the only full translation of a Kashiwaba novel from Japanese into English.

After my pitching succeeded and I translated two of the author's relatively recent novels, Restless Books asked me to retranslate Village, Kashiwaba-san's debut work from 1975. I was flattered and excited to work with the book that is easily her best-known in Japan; I had seen Japanese readers approach her at events in Washington, DC and Hong Kong, asking her to sign their childhood copies. This past summer, I saw the same scene unfold in New York.

With Sachiko Kashiwaba (left) and a reader holding her long-treasured copy of Kiri no mukō no fushigi na machi, Japan Society, New York, 27 June 2025

But as I translated, I felt wary of being compared to Holmes and found wanting—or worse, derivative. I loved the title of his translation, and I didn’t know if I dared reread the rest lest I be influenced. I completely missed that I was influenced already—for throughout my translation, I used the word mist for kiri 霧, when this could just as correctly be translated as fog.

The thought did not even strike me until months after publication, so strong was the Marvelous magic!

I do invite readers to compare the Holmes translation to mine now, partly to appreciate how no two human translations are alike. For seven iterations of a Translation Day event in SCBWI Japan, we also conveyed this through a workshop; the resulting translations show how a passage in the hands of six or nine or ten translators turns into as many faithful interpretations.

In this sense, translation is akin to illustration. Next week, I will share about the illustrators I have encountered along the path of translating Sachiko Kashiwaba.

Avery Fischer Udagawa’s translations include the 2022 Batchelder Award-winning novel Temple Alley Summer, the 2024 Batchelder Honor book The House of the Lost on the Cape, and new release The Village Beyond the Mist, all authored in Japanese by Sachiko Kashiwaba. Avery works in international education north of Bangkok and volunteers as SCBWI Global Translator Coordinator.