Hey folks - Is there a contemporary equivalent to the old “Illustration & Graphic Design Market” books that Northlight used to put out? Just really tired of endlessly googling. Miss having lots of info in one central locale. Thanks!
Hmm. I am something of an old timer, but I don’t remember the books you are talking about. Are they the same as the various “black books” that were published back in the day that showcased illustrators and photographers?
SteveO this was a book that listed publishing market contacts for designers and illustrators. Looks like it was last published in 2017 (the copy on my bookshelf has to be from the early 80s)
Everything is online now. We used to use several artist reps and even those have gone under in the past 6 years or so. A tiny few are left. Now if we are looking for illustrators it’s mostly through past contacts or deviantart or stock searches where it is to the advantage of the illustrator to use their real name rather than some silly user name. We’ve contacted several to do custom commissions based on a style we found on stock sites by searching for their name+illustrator. 
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They used to come out yearly and were pretty much the bible for breaking into various markets. They had a cross section of listings along with detailed information about who and how to approach at each prospective publisher, company, organization, etc. I bought one every other year for many years. Last one was 2011, I think.
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Yep, times have sure changed. But from the creative’s point of view, the process you describe seems much more passive - Like, put your work out there and hope somebody comes across it.
I don’t remember those — obviously — nor do I know of a modern day equivalent.
I do know North Light Books, though. Here are a few books from my library that North Light put out along with bookmarks from Bookstar and Brentano’s that were tucked inside.
A date night for my wife and I used to be dinner and a bookstore. Good times, but I digress…
I just showed the bookmarks to my wife and got an instant “Awwww.” Funny how a little piece of paper can instantly take you to a time and place in life and conjure up all of the associated feelings.
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