TALK: Katie Green

Katie Green is the writer and illustrator of Lighter Than My Shadow, a brilliantly honest graphic memoir which took over five years to complete. She spoke to StoryWorld about her work and inspirations.

Hi Katie. Tell me about Lighter Than My Shadow.

Lighter Than My Shadow started out as the vague idea to write the book about recovery from anorexia that hadn't been there for me. It evolved as my recovery took in some unexpected and unpleasant twists and turns and became a hope to be unflinchingly honest about what it's like to live with eating disorders, to experience sexual abuse, and what it takes to rebuild your life afterwards.

I knew it had to be in visual form after reading my first graphic novel (Maus by Art Spiegelman). I'd always had trouble expressing my feelings in words - this was part of why I developed an eating disorder - so I hoped that exploring the issues in metaphorical language might be more immediate and more affecting, or at least express things differently than a verbal account.

You produce the Green Bean. What do you write about in there and how did you get into making Zines?

The Green Bean is best described as a blog in paper form. It contains snippets of my everyday life, just things I love to draw, so includes everything from book reviews, short comics, recipes to craft projects and sewing patterns. I often document trips I've taken, or current obsessions. Recent issues have included 30 of my favourite memories in honour of my 30th birthday, a 100 mile walk in Yorkshire, and I'm working on one about my obsessions with knitting and Lego!

Which artist are you most inspired by?

I never fail to be blown away by the work of Shaun Tan.

What’s your work schedule like? Do you have regular times, places, etc, or can you work anytime, anywhere?

Meticulous. I try to maintain routine, showing up at my desk in my home studio by 9 every morning. Without that I flail around uselessly and never get anything done. This is not something I find difficult. It's harder for me to remember to leave the desk at the end of the day or at the weekend.

 

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I recently finished illustrating a collection of children's stories, The Crystal Mirror, written by Tim Malnick and published by Vala. It was wonderful to play with so much colour after years working in the greys of Lighter Than My Shadow. I've also been illustrating a chapter of The Courage To Be Me, a story of hope for survivors of sexual abuse by Nina Burrowes.

 

And lastly, you’ve just moved to Plymouth – how are you finding Devon as a place to live?

It's quite a change, having grown up in the London suburbs and spent the last ten years living in the centre of Bristol, but a change for the better certainly. I've always been inspired by nature, so being surrounded by so much wildlife and being ten minutes away from a walk on Dartmoor is such a gift.

Thanks Katie!

Katie's website is www.katiegreen.co.uk

You can order The Green Bean as well as signed copies of Katie's books from www.katiegreen.etsy.com

And you can link up with her on Twitter and Facebook