An Opportunity I Couldn’t Pass Up — Discussing ‘The Binti Trilogy’ Folio Edition With Artist David Palumbo

Originally published in 2015, the science fiction story Binti tells the story of a young Himba woman who is accepted into the galaxy’s best institution of higher education. After the success of the first story – which won the Hugo and Nebular awards – author Nnedi Okorafor published two follow-up novellas, Binti: Home and Binti: The Night Masquerade. Now all three are being collected in a single edition from the Folio Society. Artist David Palumbo, known for his work on Magic: The Gathering and Joe Golem: Occult Detective, has previously drawn covers for the stories and now returns to illustrate The Binti Trilogy. In an interview with Comicon.com, Palumbo discusses why he wanted to return to these stories and how he approached this complicated set of stories.

Tom Smithyman: Do you remember the first time reading The Binti Trilogy? What was your impression?

David Palumbo: Absolutely! I painted the original covers for Tor Books and so I read each volume in the staggered pace of their releases. The first book is so contained, which I really appreciated. It is so well constructed. And then going forward, each one after amplifies and accelerates. For this edition, it was fantastic to go back through them with no interruptions and enjoy them seamlessly.

Smithyman: Why was this a project that you felt you wanted to take on?

Palumbo: I love illustrated novels. Working in a series brings a story to life in a way you just can’t do when limited to just a cover. I’d also never been asked to revisit a story I’d worked on before and that felt like an interesting challenge. The first Tor cover was a bit of a landmark piece for me and one I still am very happy with, and I always felt really lucky to have been involved with such a stellar series. Being able to return to this one all these years later and do it bigger and more in depth just felt like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

Smithyman: You’ve painted your fair share of aliens before. Why do you think you are the right artist to illustrate The Binti Trilogy?

Palumbo: The tone is something that I really click with, and I think that goes a long way. Of course, I believe there are many ways any number of artists could approach this series, and I’d love to see other interpretations as well. I simply follow what catches my interest and feels exciting when I’m working on a project. And there’s no shortage of interesting material here.

Smithyman: The Binti Trilogy spans genres and themes. Did that make illustrating the story more difficult?

Palumbo: I believe on my earlier covers it may have. It took me some time working through concepts to find the right vibe. Coming in for the Folio Edition though, I was already familiar with that and was able to enjoy the way these genres and moods build on each other.

Smithyman: What is the process like for illustrating the Folio Edition? Did you collaborate with Nnedi Okorafor on it or did you work separately?

Palumbo: My experience in publishing has been that an editor usually acts as an intermediary between artist and author, and that was the case here. I was working with editor Sophia Schoepfer all through the process. She would take my proposals or sketches to Nnedi and come back with their agreed notes and any other suggestions, visual cues, etc. It was a very collaborative process.

Smithyman: In the stories, Binti attends a prestigious intergalactic university. If you were a student at such a school, what would you study?

Palumbo: I suppose being an artist, I have to imagine I’d study art! The possibilities of extraterrestrial psychology or the study of cultures among different alien races is really fascinating to think about, though I don’t know I’d have the aptitude for those as a major. Art feels like a form of communication to me that would still draw heavily on those concepts. It would be so fascinating to engage with the creative expressions of alien minds.

Smithyman: It sure would! Thanks for taking the time to talk about The Binti Trilogy.