I first met Rob as a fellow-Bay Area (CA) creative, and quickly came to admire his boundless energy and unwavering commitment to his community. He has worked with other Bay Area children’s book creators to organize the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair in Oakland, California– an annual book fair, held in December and designed to connect local children with diverse books, authors, and illustrators. Within Rob’s role as part of the Social Justice Children’s Book Fair collective, he also helps support the annual Bay Area Book Festival (BABF). Where there are children’s books and community gathered in one place in the Bay Area, you will likely find Robert Liu-Trujillo.
Bio:
Peace! My name is Rob. Robert. Roberto. Just not Bob (He, Him, Bruh). I’m an author and illustrator from Oakland, California, and I’ve been an artist most of my life. I started working professionally in the early 2000’s and have worked in murals, public art, arts education, merchandise making, illustration, and kid book publishing.
My most recent books are “Fresh Juice/ Jugo Fresco” which I wrote and illustrated, “Art of Rob” a 130 page book of sketches, drawings, etc., and “We Are Yoga/ Somos Yoga” written by Jill Guerra and illustrated by me. I am represented by Marietta Zacker at Gallt & Zacker.
- Website: www.Robdontstop.com
- IG: https://www.instagram.com/robert_tres/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mrroberttrujillo
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robliutrujillo.bsky.social
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063740375326
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-liu-trujillo/
The Journey: My Path to Publishing
So I began as an illustrator first. I sent out postcards, I emailed art directors & agents, went to conferences, and generally stumbled through how and what to do from 2007-2013. I sent out a ton of work and was not getting anything back. Part of that was needing to get better as an artist, not knowing the right channels, building community, and the very real road blocks that keep folks (especially bipoc, queer, or radical) out. I started working on my writing, studying the craft more, and reading everything I could get my hands on. Then I saw Janine Macbeth and Innosanto Nagara use this new tool called “Kickstarter” to launch their own self published picture books. I decided I would launch my own, too, and it seemed like once I made that decision my first contract as an illustrator came. I’ve been doing traditional, small, and indy press books since then. With my most recent book “Fresh Juice,” it was a full circle moment because I sent them samples of my work in the beginning, and after self publishing, pushing “Furqan’s First Flat Top” out there relentlessly, I got an agent, submitted that story, and got it bought by Cheryl Klein at Lee & Low!
The Back Story: How I Got “The Deal”
Well, I needed to work on my chops as a writer, and once I proved to myself I could write AND illustrate my own picture book and that it was well received by my community, I would get a deal. My self published story came from years of study of the craft. That story led to me getting an agent with a referral by my good friend Aida Salazar here in the Bay who was already rep’d by her. Then all I had to do was redo the manuscript, make sample paintings, a dummy, and the rest is history. In these times where it’s hard to get a deal, agent, or contract, I encourage new folks to make your story anyway you can and start reading it to children and families. I learned so much from just sharing it before the deal.
The Inspiration: Who/What Inspired Me
My son! He was 2 when I started and he was 19 when I got my latest book published. He inspired me to make the books I wanted to see–for him and other families. That led to me understanding how I had been affected by a lack of representation as a child in my local libraries and schools. It led me to do the research, make friends, connections, and community that not just gets my story out, but gets out those of so many overlooked or under promoted storytellers.
The Process: How I Work
I like to start drawing and writing in my sketchbook. I make assignments for myself in the form of character designs, short stories, inspiration boards, and so much more, to make creating a habit rather than an inspiring moment here or there. I keep a document with lots of story ideas, inspiration, etc., and I often pull from that to build fully fledged stories, words and images. Once I get one I like, I keep adding to it and refining until I feel confident enough to share with my agent, critique partners, or colleagues. Then, I try to self publish it or get it bought.
THE BUZZ: Reviews and Media Links
MPR: I was a guest on Minnesota Public Radio’s show “Early Risers” w/ Zsame Morgan, Yuyi Morales, and Meleck Davis
KQED: I was on a podcast called Rightnowish talking about kid lit
Art of the Bay Podcast
Multicultural Classroom Podcast
The State of the Industry: Facts, Insights, and Opinions About Publishing Today
The fact is if you’re going to be an author, illustrator, publisher, agent, any of these things, you have to approach it with a respect for the craft and a desire to learn. Some people think making picture books is easy, so much so that they pass off AI generated words and art as their own. Sure, you can make a physical book that resembles a children’s book. But for the story to mean something, for it to be meaningful 5 or 10 years from now, for a family, parent, teacher, librarian, or child to choose it and come back to it–that takes skills. And if you want to tell a story that will positively impact children you gotta study and respect the craft. That means reading a lot, writing, drawing, researching, community building, etc. I think it also means being open minded even if you’ve got some knowledge. Be open to learning more and sharing that knowledge. The biz was hard years ago, and its hard now. But if you’re committed to making, publishing, or representing quality storytelling, you will reach your goal. So don’t give up.
Under the Radar:
Rob recommends learning more about the following creatives!
Carlos Matias, Keah Brown, Johnnie Christmas, Shawneé Gibbs & Shawnelle Gibbs, Dawud Anyabwile, Ronald Wimberly, Olivia Stephens, Jamila Rowser, Robyn Smith, Lawrence Lindell, Joel Christian Gill