- 📢 Monday, 13:00 - 13:30
Annie Atkins is a graphic designer best known for her work in the film industry, creating graphic props and paper ephemera for Oscar-winning films including Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs and The French Dispatch, Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and West Side Story, and family favourites such as Chicken Run and Indiana Jones. Her first book, Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps, prompted Jeff Goldblum to write that “Annie makes the unreal seem hyperreal, and the real more supremely alive and utterly magical”. Her second book, Letters from the North Pole, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards, and her next book, Cackle Crackle: Letters from the Witch, is available for pre-order now.
Mastering the Art of Levitation
@ Monday 13:00 - 13:30
How handmade documents help fictional worlds feel emotionally real
What makes an imaginary world believable? In storytelling, audiences often connect through surprisingly small physical details: a folded letter, a faded map, or a scribbled note left in a drawer. These seemingly ordinary objects can give fictional worlds both texture and history. In this talk, author and graphic prop designer Annie Atkins explores the role of handmade documents in storytelling, from period film props to the magic of children’s books. Drawing on her work designing for directors including Steven Spielberg and Wes Anderson, Annie examines how tactile design choices can make fictional worlds feel truly lived in. Through process insights and behind-the-scenes stories (as well as the odd mistake or two!) the session explores why audiences continue to respond so powerfully to handcrafted detail in an increasingly digital world.
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