How did you get involved with The Folio Society and when did they approach you to do the illustrations for Lord of the Flies?

They got in touch with me in the fall of 2008. As far as I know, they found my work online. I didn’t start working on the project until Spring 2009, and worked on it off and on for the whole summer.

How did you go about selecting which elements or images from the story to focus on?

It was a difficult process. There are so many great scenes and concepts put forth in the novel. In the end, I tried to focus more on individual, quiet moments, partly because that’s where my strengths lie as an illustrator. I also wanted to avoid showing anything too violent or explicit. The words do a far better job of conveying the horror of Piggy and Simon’s murder than I ever could. Some things are better left to the imagination, and I think in the end I was more interested in conveying a mood and atmosphere than depicting ultra-specific moments from the text.

What’s your favorite part of the book and why?
 
That’s really hard to say. Probably when Jack and his boys paint their faces for the first time — when their transformation takes on a physical manifestation. It’s such a great visual, and it’s always resonated with me. I think there’s something very alluring about the notion of becoming another person; in the novel it becomes such an ominous and foreboding moment. You can almost see the consequences of this metamorphosis cast out before them.