A website dedicated to animation, awards, and everything in between.
My Books
Bright and Shiny Vol 1
Have you ever wondered why Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs received an Honorary Oscar®, yet no Best Picture nomination? How did The Flintstones become the first animated program to be nominated at the Emmys® as a comedy series? How June Foray went from voicing Rocky the Flying Squirrel to giving her fellow animation legends a voice at the Annie Awards®?
Bright & Shiny thoroughly explores animation’s history across award shows. This initial volume covers everything from the first Oscar®-winning animated short to the Disney Renaissance’s breakthrough on the awards trail. In addition to insider baseball about the awards game, Bright & Shiny provides behind-the-scenes stories regarding your favorite animated films and shows, complete with interviews from Jerry Beck, Don Bluth, Brenda Chapman, Ruth Clampett, Don Hahn, Emily Hubley, Alan Menken, John Musker, Floyd Norman, Stephen Schwartz, and nearly 200 more industry professionals.
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“Interesting behind-the-scenes stories about your favorite animated movies and shows, and intriguing interviews with more than 200 industry professionals combine for a fascinating and entertaining read.” - Deb Greenberg, Midwest Book Review
"The book blew me away... [Nick Spake's] exuberance for animation bleeds through the pages in a way that makes somebody who's reading it want to absorb more animated movies." - Andrew Corns, The Revisionist's Almanac
"I thought it was amazing. I really, really enjoyed it. I learned so much, and I'm really excited to read the next two." - Britt Hobson, The Revisionist's Almanac
Bright and Shiny Vol 2
The history of animation at award shows continues in Bright & Shiny Vol. 2. Have you ever wondered why The Simpsons has won numerous Emmys® for Outstanding Animated Program, yet got shafted in the Comedy Series race? Have the Annies® ever aired on television or were they always strictly a streaming affair? What finally prompted the Academy to create an Oscar® for Best Animated Feature?
Vol. 2 provides all of these answers with more insight from animation all-stars like Robert Alvarez, Nancy Beiman, Edwin Catmull, Lorna Cook, Dean DeBlois, Al Jean, Vicky Jenson, Bill Kroyer, Kevin Lima, Margaret Loesch, Rich Moore, Tom Ruegger, Chris Sanders, Fred Seibert, Charles Solomon, Lee Unkrich, and many more. Animation is ready for the next step.
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"I really enjoyed [the] first two volumes. Great research and superb writing. So glad [Nick Spake] committed to writing these." - Mike Gabriel, co-director of The Rescuers Down Under and Pocahontas.
Bright and Shiny Vol 3
The next step is here. In this third volume of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows, animation makes its long-overdue return to the Best Picture Oscar® race with Up and Toy Story 3. The Annie Awards® enter a new era under changing leadership amid a highly publicized boycott. A new Golden Age of television animation arrives at the Emmys® with shows such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, and BoJack Horseman.
With insight from Tony Angellotti, Ron Dyens, Mike Gabriel, Frank Gladstone, Jorge R. Gutierrez, Mike Hollingsworth, Mindy Johnson, Matīss Kaža, Glen Keane, Peter Lord, Mark Osborne, Bill Plympton, Kristina Reed, Jonas Rivera, Linda Simensky, Benoit Berthe Siward, Rebecca Sugar, Chris Williams, Paul Young, and Marilyn Zornado, among numerous others, the so-called “kids’ table” has never been larger.
"Thorough, fair, and balanced. It is an excellent contribution to the history of animation and to the ongoing vitality of this art form. With so many changes occurring now, this story will continue." - Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and former president of Walt Disney Animation Studios.