ARTS & CULTURE | By Ilona Saari

Author Headlines Oct. 29th Literary Branch Event

David Mellon’s “Silent.” The author will appear at the Art Center for a reading on Oct. 29th.

After years of painting pictures which were often influenced by fairytales and illustrations from books he read as a child, David Mellon also used his talent to draw storyboards for film and TV commercials for such companies as Coke, BMW, Toyota, Tide, AT&T and Grey Goose.

Before embarking on his art career, David attended the San Francisco Art Institute and California Institute for the Arts and graduated from Art Center College of Design with a degree in illustration, where he fine-tuned his artistic imagination that was nurtured by the sights and sounds, colors and lights of the little river town in south east Louisiana where he grew up.

It was when he discovered the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program that his literary aspirations were ignited. His first book, “Silent,” was nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize.  He’s been a member of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers) since 2011.

“Silent,” is a young adult/adult story of sixteen year old Adi who, in the midst of WW1, searches across France for her twin brothers kidnapped by the mysterious Monsieur Coal. With only a pocket watch full of riddles to guide her and forbidden to speak or write, Adi cuts her hair and takes on the guise of a dead soldier as she and her unlikely allies race against the clock to survive in a world darkened by war.

Please join us on Monday, October 29^th, at 7 p.m. in the Ojai Art Center Gallery for David’s talk on his transition from painting to writing, how he got his novel published and a reading from that novel, followed by a reception and book signing.