OUR BOOKPLATE PROGRAMME MANAGER, JULIA B. GRANTHAM, INTRODUCES THE INSPIRING TALENT BEHIND OUR NEWEST BOOKPLATE DESIGN.

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Collectable Bookplate, this time featuring artwork created especially for the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation (JALF) by Steve Keele and his cousin Sam, of the popular Facebook group, the Jane Austen Fan Club.

They have kindly agreed to answer a few questions for us - some of the answers are from Steve and some of them are from Sam. Enjoy the interview and don’t forget to purchase your very own bookplate, and buy some as Christmas presents for the Janeites in your life!

Last orders for Christmas 2019 gift bookplates need to be in by 17 December!

Dr J.B. Grantham, JALF Bookplate Programme Manager

JBG: Thank you so much for participating in the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation’s Collectable Bookplates Programme. We are very excited to welcome artistic talent from the Jane Austen Fan Club to our ranks. My first question is about the Club – how did it start? What gave you the idea?

SK: The Jane Austen Fan Club started in October 2006. It was the result of two occurrences:

1. Facebook being invented in 2004 and

2. The 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

Until the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, I had never heard of Jane Austen. I was in my bakery decorating my cakes and all of the sales girls were going on about this new movie and how great it was and Mr Darcy this and Elizabeth Bennet that, and they were seeing it three and four and five times! So, of course, I had to see it. I was immediately hooked. I think I saw it five times! From the movie, I discovered the 1995 adaptation with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, and then read the book which, of course, is superior to all.

Interestingly, I was not involved in the founding of the Jane Austen Fan Club. I joined Facebook in 2007 and joined the JAFC soon after. At that time there were 5,000 people in it. Facebook was in its infancy and there were very few pictures. So, lots and lots of conversations going on about all of Jane Austen's works. I loved it! I was reading the books and talking to like-minded people about this Jane Austen universe which I had discovered.

Then a strange thing happened. Facebook purged their groups. They kicked everyone out and to be in it, you had to join back up. So the next thing I knew, I was the sole admin for the group and there were only 300 of us. Even though we were small in number, I kept bragging about how we were the greatest Jane Austen Fan Club in the world. Facebook provides some demographics of its groups and I found that we were from all over the world. So I then started bragging about that. (Ya gotta sell it!) 

It took ten years to get to 5000 members. Now today, in December 2019, we have reached 22,000 members from literally every nation on earth.

JBG: What, in your opinion, is at the root of Jane Austen’s universal appeal? Why does her name and her work speak to people from different corners of the world with different cultural backgrounds and life experiences?

SK: It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what the appeal of Jane Austen is because every person has a unique experience reading her books or watching the myriad of adaptations and movies. Everyone's reaction is different. One thing is certain though. Jane Austen appeals to all of humanity across the board. People in all walks of life love her and her stories. For me personally, I love that she takes average ordinary people, in average ordinary situations, and makes them extraordinary and interesting.

I can speak from my own experience in saying I know that in our group we have every nation, every religion, every political persuasion, every race, creed, gender and colour. Some of us are highly educated and some are not educated at all, and then there is everyone else in between. All are unanimous in their love for Jane Austen and her genius.

JBG: Please tell our readers a little more about yourselves, your professional occupations, and your passions and interests beyond Jane Austen.

SK: Steve Keele loves to create artistically. He has been blessed to make a successful living as a commercial artist, designer, and 3D computer animator. Steve has a Bachelor of Arts degree from BYU. During his 40+ years as a professional artist, Steve has worked in the film industry, working on children's cartoons and feature films. He has done illustrations for multiple children’s magazines and books and designed countless logos and t-shirt illustrations. Steve currently works in 3D computer animation creating models for movies, commercials, video games, accident reconstructions, and many other applications. He also does freelance art projects in a variety of mediums. 

Steve is married and has 6 children and 17 grandchildren. He loves music and plays bass guitar and sings in The Flashback Brothers classic rock band with his cousin Sam.

A little about Sam Keele:

I have been married to my wife Sherrie for 40 years next June. I have 7 children, and 8 grandchildren. We are active in our church and our community.

I have been in the baking industry my entire adult life. I grew up in my father's bakery. I began making wedding cakes in 1986. I have worked for bakeries, I have owned bakeries, I have consulted for bakeries. I have been a salesman in the baking industry and today I am a bakery technician. I fix problems in bakeries along the Wasatch Front in Utah (super boring) and I also have a flourishing wedding cake business (awesomeweddingcakes.com).

My passion is music - a passion I share with my cousin, Steve. We both have written songs and seen them produced. We formed our classic rock and roll band, The Flashback Brothers, eleven years ago (Flashbackbrothers.com). Steve is the bass player and I am the lead singer. We perform with our band about 25 times a year at festivals and fairs and private parties (super fun).

We are both artists and love art. Our children all have this same passion for art and we are passing along our talents as fast as they can absorb it all.

JBG: What is your favourite Jane Austen novel and why?

SK: My favorite novel is Pride and Prejudice. The characters are timeless. The plot and story are compelling. The language is irresistible. Lizzy Bennet is HOT. She is smart and witty and sassy and fun and funny. Her tête-à-tête with Lady Catherine de Bourgh is worth the price of admission!

JBG: The same question about Jane Austen’s characters - do you have a favourite one? If yes, then why this particular one?

SK: Oh, how do you choose just one? I love Anne Elliot, Elinor Dashwood, Emma Woodhouse, Catherine Morland, Fanny Price and best of all, of course, Lizzy Bennet.

JBG: Tell us a little about your choice of a subject for the JALF bookplate. How did it come about? How did the creative process go?

SK: Sam and I had just finished creating the artwork for a commemorative t-shirt to celebrate the ten thousandth member of the Jane Austen Fan Club on Facebook, when we got this opportunity with the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation. What an honour!

We talked about a few ideas, which I sketched up. Realising this bookplate would be released around Halloween, and it being the 200th anniversary of Northanger Abbey, we decided to have Catherine Morland reading The Mysteries of Udolpho, while General Tilney looks menacingly on...  or is that Henry Tilney?  You decide! 

Once we settled on a concept, I started on a final drawing and submitted it to the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation. It was approved and I started working on the final art using Adobe Illustrator. We love that you love our ideas!

JBG: Are you planning to come to England for one of the Jane Austen festivals – in Chawton or in Bath?

SK: I was fortunate enough to be able to come to England earlier this year in May. I was able to visit all of the Jane Austen fan sites - Lyme Park, Chatsworth, Winchester Cathedral, and of course the mecca - Chawton and the Jane Austen's House Museum. I am planning another trip this coming May. I cannot attend the festivals because they occur during the busiest time for my wedding cake business.

JBG: Do you have a message for our readers?

SK: My message to your readers would be:

1.  Buy a book plate from the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation. Put it in your favourite book. What a charity it is! Jane would be so proud.

2.  Join our Jane Austen Fan Club on Facebook and get ready to talk talk talk about all things Jane Austen.

BOOKPLATE LAUNCH!

For every donation to the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation you receive two personal bookplates with YOUR NAME in Jane Austen’s handwriting and a unique number, as well as a letter from our Founder, Caroline Jane Knight, and a collectable sheet with information about the artist. 

The image is designed exclusively for JALF and should not be copied or published in any other context. 

Help us to improve literacy rates in the world and enjoy your very own bookplate!

Image credit: Steve Keele and Jane Austen Literacy Foundation volunteers and artists