Joel Holland – illustratör

In 2008, J.K. Rowling delivered a deeply affecting commencement speech at Harvard University. Now published for the first time in book form, Very Good Lives offers J.K. Rowling's words of wisdom for anyone at a turning point in life, asking the profound and provocative questions: How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others?Drawing from stories of her own post-graduate years, the world-famous author addresses some of life's most important issues with acuity and emotional force.

Illustrator Joel Holland created his first book, NYC Storefronts, because he was missing all the places he couldn’t visit in his own hometown during Covid lockdown. Now he’s set his sights on London—a city that feels at once ancient and modern, traditional and quirky, homey and hip.Made with the same energy as NYC Storefronts, this book has a distinctly English vibe. It divides the city into five navigable sections (Central, North, East, South, and West), and highlights its diverse mix of cultures. In each chapter is a sprawling selection of shops, brought to life by Holland’s charming drawings and London-based journalist Rosie Hewitson’s captivating descriptions.This collection of more than two hundred shopfronts runs the gamut of old to modern-day London: stately bookshops, umbrella stores, tailors, hatters, and pubs, but also trendy restaurants, bars, and boutiques. A number of places are deeply profiled, including storied jazz club Ronnie Scott’s; Hatchards, the UK’s oldest- surviving bookshop; Caribbean record store People’s Sound; Rowan’s Tenpin Bowling Alley; beloved Turkish restaurant Mangal II; and gender-affirming hairdressers Open Barbers; each one is lovingly detailed in Holland’s gentle tones.An informative guide to discovering all the Big Smoke has to offer, this is also a lasting keepsake for London lovers of every age and style.

From the authors of NYC Storefronts comes a sprawling collection of intimately rendered shops that line the streets and sidewalks of the Big Apple's most populous boroughNowadays, Brooklyn is both destination and home to so many New Yorkers that shopping, eating out, doing errands, and going to cultural events can all be done without leaving the borough. A Brooklyn denizen for years, illustrator Joel Holland knows how special the place is. Imbuing his drawings with the same heart and panache that he brought to the Manhattan book, he takes readers on a trip into its far-flung neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Coney Island; Bay Ridge to Brownsville.These pages highlight a telephone book's worth of small businesses that contribute to Brooklyn's multicultural, demographic-spanning appeal: Mom and Pop restaurants and African music sellers; clothing from Carhartt to vintage; vinyl and knitting stores that double as community centers; auto-repair shops and art galleries; and, of course, an endless supply of delis and pizza joints.Each illustration includes engaging anecdotes and bits of neighborhood lore researched and written by journalist David Dodge, helping bring additional flavor and context to Holland's drawings. This atlas of Brooklyn's best retail is a love letter to a vibrant, ever-changing community.

Now available in a handy, pocket-sized edition to accompany readers as they discover Manhattan’s most cherished and intriguing stores.Every New Yorker has a favorite place to shop—whether it’s for pizza or flowers, to grab a beer, or slurp down soup dumplings. When the coronavirus crisis hit in 2020, illustrator Joel Holland began drawing storefronts near his apartment as a way of memorializing an element of city life that seemed suddenly precarious. He posted them on Instagram and they quickly drew an avid following. Eventually, Holland’s collection grew to include shops recommended by friends or strangers online.This book showcases 225 of his delightful illustrations and runs the gamut, from delis and bodegas to dive bars, bookstores, bakeries, newsstands, cafés, restaurants, and more. Each image is paired with engaging text written by journalist David Dodge and filled with the historical, cultural, and architectural details that have earned these stores a place in people’s hearts.Also included is a foreword by beloved Instagrammer New York Nico, who is known for chronicling the city’s independent businesses. The perfect gift for New Yorkers of all ages—as well as an insider’s guide to everything from bagels to late-night jazz—this treasury of iconic shops belongs in the library of anyone who loves NYC.

The illustrator behind the highly-acclaimed books NYC Storefronts, London Shopfronts, and Brooklyn Storefronts turns his eye—and pen— to the City of Light.Brimming with joie de vivre and delightful detail, this journey through Paris’s neighborhoods captures two hundred intriguing storefronts that help make the city a shopper’s and tourist’s paradise. As in his previous books illustrating the shops of New York City and London, Joel Holland offers the unique perspective of a traveler on foot. Paris-based journalist Vivian Song’s text provides an insider’s perspective as to why each location is worthy of a stop on any itinerary. There are plenty of iconic stores here: Le Bon Marché, France’s first department store; Shakespeare and Company, the most famous English- language bookshop in the city; and the Ladurée macaron shop. But there’s also a bounty of lesser-known places, like a Moroccan restaurant frequented by the city’s top chefs; a taxidermist’s mecca; and a historic lingerie shop that birthed the predecessor of the modern-day brazier. From the Marais to Montmartre, the Latin Quarter to the 1st Arrondissement, this delightful book offers a unique glimpse into what makes the city a magical and wonderfully diverse place to walk and shop.