Subi Bosa has been drawing since he was small: he sketched on walls, took extra art classes, and created comics about everyday life at boarding school in Hammanskraal.
After studying Architecture at university, he pivoted to illustration and hasn’t looked back. Today, he’s a renowned illustrator with children’s books, comics, a graphic novel and several awards to his name.
He’s also one of Book Dash’s most prolific contributors, with five books under his belt since 2018, when he saw a call for volunteers on social media. “I thought, this will be cool – I’ll be in a room with like-minded people, and I get to knock out a book in one day. Why not?” says Bosa.
His first 12-hour book-making sprint was stressful. “I know how to draw quickly, but it’s different,” he says. “It’s live, and there’s a writer who’s asking you, wait, maybe the turtle should have a hat.”
Unlike his usual creative process, which stretches over months and where editors and publishers have the final say, Bosa learned quickly that producing a Book Dash book in just 12 hours is all about embracing clarity and speed.
“It helped me appreciate how to simplify an illustration,” Bosa says. “As the illustrator, I can take more control – I can say, ‘I think I can draw something like this really well and really quickly.’”
It also taught him to let go of his ego around his work. “With artists, there can be a tethering to the art – it’s their child, it’s a representation of them. But I don’t think that’s useful,” he says. “It’s valuable to be able to get yourself out of the way and knock the work out.”
The collaborative, reciprocal model has built his muscle for giving and receiving feedback. “I owe Book Dash so much – for understanding how to work with the editor and the writer, make suggestions, take suggestions,” he says. “If somebody gives you feedback or critique, it’s valid.”
As an in-demand artist with an international footprint, why does Bosa keep on volunteering to make more books? For one, it’s impactful. When children have abundant, relatable books from a young age, Bosa says, they become discerning readers as they grow. “If you go through 100 books by age five, you are likely a critic as well,” he says. “You’ll want to find books that are a bit more intense or a bit more challenging, a bit more fantastical.”
Bosa also hosts comic art workshops for kids with the Otto Foundation, where he’s seen how children who are readers have more confidence and agency. He loves engaging with kids who “have a little bit of sass”, he says – who are inquisitive and feel empowered, who aren’t waiting for permission to play or be funny.
Volunteering with Book Dash is also easy to fit into his life. “I’m just giving a day away,” he says. “It’s not weeks of feedback and emails. It’s convenient, and it has maximum impact in the long run, because the books are translated and translated.”
And it’s a great day out – thanks in part, Bosa says, to Book Dash’s artful, considered matchmaking when grouping the volunteers into teams. “It’s really fun to meet people you’ve never met before, find a way to click together as a group and produce something that is not for you,” he says.
