The tenth edition of The Penguin Annual Lecture 2016 was yet another enlightening event in the series of prestigious lectures held over the years. Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium saw a massive turnout of kids and their enthusiastic parents as well as young adults, eager to listen to Jeff Kinney, the man behind “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. The author has a permanent place across bestselling charts and has consistently been ranked as the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author. The lively lecture incorporated personal anecdotes from Kinney’s childhood, his interactions with influential people around the world but mostly stressed on the idea of Greg Heffley (the protagonist), the creation of the series and the long route to success.
Growing up in a house full of books, Kinney was instilled with a love for reading at an early age. Like most younger siblings, he recalled his first books were passed down by elders in the house and included navigating a range of coming-of-age books recommended by his sister and periodicals that were passed down to him from his brother. His mother inculcated him with an early education but it was his father who brought comics into his life. It was then that he was introduced to a whole new world of Donald Duck , Uncle Scrooge among others that continue to inspire him even today. “These comics gave me a frame of reference to understand the world.” It was then that he realised that, “Great stories can be told in comics too.”
In 1892, a bookstore opened in their area and it changed his way of reading. No longer limited to books passed down to him, he went on to explore new books on his own and became an avid reader of fantasy and started discovering his comic books like “Calvin and Hobbes” and “The Far Sid”e. As someone with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), he recalled that it was difficult to finish a text. Describing images in the books as “little islands to swim to”, he explained how images were necessary to complement the textual. The idea of cartooning and using pictorial representation to communicate his ideas took root at any early age and would later culminate in his award-winning series “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” .
It was around this time that he started his first cartoon strip called “Igdoof”. The series, he explained, was motivated by the will “To show the cartoon syndicates that I had what was needed.” For three years he kept getting numerous rejections from all sides. But the rejections were polite refusals and no one told him what to correct, what to change and for three years, he was simply stuck in a predictable cycle. What propelled his upward climb was his self realisation that he was good at telling jokes but not good at illustrating. Rising from his failure to become a newspaper cartoonist or get his initial cartoon strip accepted, he struck upon the idea of making the best use of his skills and write jokes while pretending to be a small kid. This way, he could actually turn around his lack of illustrating skills and use it to his advantage.
After eight years of vigorous writing, he took his first draft to the bustling madness of New York ComiCon and was told off for bringing his draft to an event that was consumer-oriented. But surprisingly, that was his lucky day since his draft got accepted and within a year, the first edition of the book was out. Recalling his exuberance on holding the first copy, he explained the feeling of getting published. “It means your idea that you thought were kind of good, someone else has put money into it and validated it.”
Elaborating on his method of creation, he explained, “Cartooning is the art of simplification.” While illustrations send messages through “artsy” details, “cartoons show as little information as possible to make as much impact.” Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts” was his inspiration and it is from him that he realised that, “The best cartoons use the least lines possible.” Going on to elucidate his point, he drew his beloved characters on stage, changing their expressions and morphing them into new characters just by tweaking a few lines.
Talking about his new book in the series “Double Down” (Book 11), he explained how it has been a reinventing process for him. In a throwback fashion, Book 11 is similar to Book 1 in that it has a similar storyline but with changed facts. The books, he explained, have been a key to so many places and people. He met with the Pope, who bought the first Latin copy, met with three presidents of the US and talked to Pranav, a young Indian fan who was suffering from a life-threatening disease and is no more. Through his books he later realised what resonated with the people was not just the middle school aspect of life. United by bullies, awkward moments, parents, siblings, his books attempt to “explore childhood from all sides.”
On the role of books, he refers to them as “sacred objects” and encouraged parents to cultivate the love for reading. As a writer he asserted, “The purpose of a writer is to bring joy, especially if you are a children’s writer.” Back in his home town, he has opened his own bookstore called An Unlikely Story and through it, hopes to encourage these ideals. Decorated with overhead hanging Quidditch brooms and the upstairs floor that serves as his office is home to a statue of Uncle Scrooge as a tribute to his childhood, will soon be open to kids to doodle and gain free access to Jeff and other characters. With a movie coming out next year based on his “The Long Haul ” and the conviction that there will be many more books in the series, Kinney’s lecture was an illuminating tale of triumph against recurrent failures and the courage to stand up for your ideas.
