The Movable Book Society was established in 1993 after a librarian from Rutgers University called Ann R. Montanaro published a book called Pop-up and Movable Books: A Bibliography. The positive feedback convinced Anne that there was enough interest from collectors to found a society about Movable Books.

The society is a non-profit organization that provides a forum for artists, booksellers, collectors, curators, and others to share enthusiasm about pop-up and movable books. There are nearly 450 members worldwide.

In the latest AbeBooks podcast, we are joined by Shawn Sheehy from the Movable Book Society. Shawn is a book artist and a paper engineer. Discover how pop-up books are created, their long history, the importance of Lothar Meggendorfer, and why paper engineering fascinates children, collectors and people who love books when the art that literally pops up off the page.

Shawn’s specialty is presenting animals and plants through movable paper structures. He is the creator of two trade pop-up books published by Candlewick – Welcome to the Neighborwood and Beyond the Sixth Extinction: A Post-apocalyptic Pop-up.

Beyond the Sixth Extinction began life as a limited edition artist’s book. The book imagines what species would survive if the Earth suffered major catastrophes – the cockroach, for instance.

Learn more about Shawn at his website.