September/October KNL Q&A with Sid Sharp

Independent booksellers throughout the nation have chosen Sid Sharps’s Midnight Manor: A Backwards Bedtime Book (Annick Press) as their high choose for the September/October 2026 Kids’ Indie Next List.

“Midnight Manor is full of funky characters, and unexpected details, ripe for poring over by flickering candlelight and revisiting again and again. Perfect for future goths, bug collectors, night owls, Edward Gorey fans, and kids with a silly streak,” mentioned Ashley Franklin of First Light Books in Austin, Texas.

Here, Sharp discusses their work with Bookselling This Week.

Bookselling This Week: I really like how your entire tales are on the creepy facet, however I’m interested in the place the start line was for Midnight Manor.

What was the second the place you knew you had a narrative right here?

Sid Sharp: I’ve truly been engaged on a really lengthy graphic novel for youths about worms for years now.

I had a ebook come out in 2022 and one in 2024. At some level, I used to be having a dialogue with my editor the place we principally mentioned it is too unhealthy that this worms ebook is taking so lengthy so I can not have a ebook come out in fall of 2026.

Then we received to speaking about it. What if we simply did one thing enjoyable and small?

Maybe a cool set of prints that make a little bit thriller story, or a little bit card recreation, or one thing else that may simply permit me to attract bizarre footage of scary. Then someway, though we simply speaking about just a few little drawings, it simply become a ebook in the midst of the dialogue.

But I’m so glad that it occurred that approach as a result of I actually fell in love with making this one.

BTW: It’s completely lovable. And the youngsters yearn for scary tales.

SS: I really feel like they do not get sufficient.

I used to be a child who yearned for scary tales. And I truthfully suppose that when I ran out of Goosebumps, there wasn’t actually sufficient for me. Then I turned to getting the pants scared off of me by The X-Files and the like after I was truly too younger for them.

So I feel there’s one thing genuinely helpful about making scary tales for youths — for once they’re not fairly prepared for The X-Files but.

That theme track struck a lot terror in my coronary heart as a toddler. I actually miss being so simply scared by issues. After an entire lifetime of consuming horror content material, I’m not simply rattled.

BTW: Your editor’s letter for the ebook identified that none of this artwork was finished digitally. It’s all analog.
Do you need to discuss a little bit bit about your course of and like the way you create these?

SS: I simply hate utilizing the pc, and I do not suppose it will be price it to do the job that I do if I weren’t actually, actually having fun with it.

It’s essential to me to maintain to doing it in a approach that I truly like to do, as a result of it is plenty of toiling, and I’ve to like the toiling, or else what is the level?

I largely keep on with what works for me, which is pencil, watercolor, gouache, and ink on fairly large sheets of paper that then get scaled down for the ebook.

BTW: That’s wonderful.

SS: Yeah, I’m so irritated about paper storage on a regular basis, but it surely’s price it.

I’m continually making a gift of authentic pages of my very own books to youngsters who like them. They’re like, “Wow, this is a huge gift!” And I’m like, “Get it out of my house.”

I’m at present making an attempt to determine what to do with made a 7-foot-tall puppet model of myself that I made. Sid 2 is simply hanging out in my dwelling. I by no means know what to do with them. Sometimes they’re simply sitting on the kitchen desk scaring guess.

BTW: Is there a monster or a selected factor that you just like to illustrate — on this story or generally?

SS: In this ebook, essentially the most enjoyable unfold for me to attract was once they all go dancing within the forest they usually change.

They get taller and creepier than they was and all their tooth get longer.

The most enjoyable half for me is all the time after I take one thing that was considerably regular after which change it into one thing monstrous.

I like making on a regular basis issues into one thing eerie, I feel.

BTW: That’s a superb reply. I feel my favourite web page of this explicit ebook was the kraken within the sink.

I really like the colours, but in addition that you just’re undecided if he’s hindering or serving to out.

SS: Yeah, completely. That was one of many solely ones that I redid, truly.

There was an earlier model of that web page the place I used to be like, “He is too happy there in the sink.”

I wanted it to be extra ambiguous. He may be washing the dishes or he may be smashing them towards the wall…

BTW: You have been additionally at Children’s Institute lately! So, plenty of our booksellers had an opportunity to satisfy you.

How was that have for you?

SS: It was beautiful.

People saved coming as much as me and being like, “Thank you for being here.” And I used to be like, “Are you joking? I get to fulfill the childhood fantasy of living in a hotel and doing silly tasks.”

I’ve by no means had a job the place you get to do a convention earlier than, in order that was very thrilling to me. I felt like I used to be Kevin McAllister.

Everyone was simply extremely good to me and truly blissful to see me. I typically say that I type of subsist on compliments. I feel everybody would love their job extra in the event that they acquired compliments every day about it. Being an writer, you truly do receives a commission partially in compliments, and Children’s Institute was plenty of that.

There was one thing actually magical about being round individuals who have been particularly all obsessive about youngsters’s books.

That was simply divine.

BTW: Would you inform us a little bit in regards to the position of books or indie bookstores in your life?

SS: I’ve truly been working at indie bookstores for near 10 years now — on and off at numerous completely different indies and — and it is in all probability my favourite type of service job that I’ve ever had.

I do not actually have time anymore, due to the entire making of books, however I nonetheless work simply work 4 hours every week at an indie bookstore. I adore it a lot that I can not convey myself to stop.

I really like the surroundings of an indie bookstore. I really like speaking to individuals all day about books, about what they’ve realized, and what ebook covers they like. Indie bookstores are my favourite place to be apart from in my studio at my drafting desk.