How to Make and Publish a Pop-Up Book: A Paper Engineer Explains the Process

June 25, 2026

Do you remember spending hours with pop-up books as a child? Castles rising from the page, a duck’s beak moving when you pulled a little tab, a plate you could spin so your favourite food appeared right in front of you? I do! And that’s why I was just a little lot stoked to be able to chat with Kelli Anderson, a New York-based graphic designer and paper engineer whose pop-up and movable books have been published by MoMA and Chronicle Books. Kelli’s also an indie author, a creative self-publisher and authorpreneur who will get you thinking!

You can hear our discussion on the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast (or via your favourite podcast platform).

Pop-up and movable books have captivated readers for generations, as there’s just something so magical about the interactivity.

But for many authors and creators, the world of pop-up book publishing and paper engineering is largely uncharted territory. Most indie authors live in a print-on-demand world and ebook world. Pop-up and movable books inhabit a very different one involving hand-assembly, specialist printers, and minimum print runs that make the economics unlike anything in standard publishing.

To give you an idea of what’s possible in the pop-up book world, think even more complex than the little kids’ books I alluded to from my childhood.

For example, Kelli’s previous titles include This Book Is a Camera (which literally transforms into a working pinhole camera) and This Book Is a Planetarium, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide and houses paper devices including a working star projector.

Her latest book, Alphabet in Motion: How Letters Get Their Shape, features 17 pop-ups that demonstrate the history of typography as you read it (font and design nerds – this is for you!), and was funded through a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $250,000! (Kelli definitely had to work hard to fulfil those book orders!)

What is a pop-up book, and what is paper engineering?

Paper engineering is basically the design of books, cards, and objects that move, pop up, or function mechanically using folded and cut paper structures. It’s a discipline that sits at the intersection of graphic design, physics, and storytelling.

Pop-up books range from simple children’s titles with a single rising structure to extraordinarily complex objects that project light, play sound, or function as scientific instruments…i.e. like Kelli’s complex work. (It all started for her, she told me, with a viral paper record player she made as a wedding invitation for friends!).

How pop-up books are manufactured: hand-assembly, specialist printers, and costs

This is the question I wanted to know: who actually makes pop up books?

The short answer is: people. Pop-up books are largely assembled by hand, in specialist factories (predominantly in Asia), because the fine motor skills required mean machines simply can’t do it. Each mechanism needs to be folded, glued, and positioned with precision. This is skilled, labour-intensive work, and it has a significant effect on production costs.

Minimum print runs for movable books typically start at around 1,000 copies. For a book as complex as Alphabet in Motion, Kelli needed a print run of 25,000 copies to make the economics work at all…that’s the kind of scale required to bring the per-unit cost down to a viable retail price. But as many authors and publishers know, printing that many books also comes with extraordinary cost and risk.

Kelli found her printer for her self-publishing project through the Movable Book Society, a community of paper engineers and pop-up enthusiasts she recommends as a starting point for anyone looking to connect with specialist producers. (And please keep in mind Kelli already had learned things about pop-up book production through her publishing deals with traditional publishers, so she didn’t go into the indie author project as a newbie.)

Pop-up book publishing: traditional publishers versus Kickstarter

Kelli’s path to publishing has involved both traditional publishers and crowdfunding, and the two routes suited different projects, at different times, for different reasons. You can hear more about that on the pod.

Kickstarter fulfilment for a pop-up book is its own challenge. Kelli shipped over 4,000 books as part of the campaign, and encountered real logistical difficulties.

How to start with paper engineering: entry points for authors and creators

For any author or creator now wondering whether this form of book creation might be for them, Kelli’s advice is to start small.

She recommends learning basic mechanisms through Duncan Birmingham’s ‘The Pop-Up’ YouTube channel which offers accessible introductions to common pop-up structures. Taking apart existing pop-up books is also an invaluable way to understand how the mechanisms work.

She advises that simpler movable structures such as a volvelle, a pull-tab, a single pop-up can be incorporated into a project without a full specialist team. i.e. You don’t need to start with 17 mechanisms and a 25,000-copy print run! Just like you wouldn’t try and write a 580,000-word War and Peace for your first book.

And, as already mentioned, The Movable Book Society is also a welcoming community of paper engineers, collectors, and enthusiasts and a good place to ask questions and find both inspiration and practical guidance.

Common mistakes in pop-up book production and distribution

When it comes to pitfalls, Kelli points to a few key areas:

Underestimating the complexity of hand-assembly and the time it adds to production timelines
Not factoring in the weight and fragility of pop-up books when planning shipping, fulfilment and retail channels
Starting with too complex and ambitious a project.

Listen to the episode

You can hear my full conversation with the fab Kelli Anderson, covering her origin story, the full production and publishing process for pop up books, and her practical advice for curious authors, on the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast.

Listen to the episode here.

The Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast is one of the top podcasts for writers globally, reaching listeners across 63 countries. The Production and Distribution stream, which I love hosting, covers the practical, real-world side of getting books made and into readers’ hands and there are some wonderful episodes in the back catalogue.

Links and resources

Frequently asked questions about pop-up books and paper engineering

What is paper engineering?

Paper engineering is the design of books, cards, and objects that move, pop up, or function mechanically through folded and cut paper structures. It combines graphic design, physics, and storytelling, and ranges from simple children’s pop-up books to complex objects that project light, play sound, or function as scientific instruments.

How much does it cost to produce a pop-up book?

Costs vary significantly depending on complexity and print run. Unlike standard books, pop-up books cannot be produced print-on-demand. Minimum print runs typically start at around 1,000 copies, and complex projects may require much larger runs, for example, Kelli Anderson’s Alphabet in Motion required 25,000 copies to be economically viable at a standard retail price.

How are pop-up books assembled?

Pop-up books are largely assembled by hand in specialist factories, most commonly in Asia. The precision required for folding, gluing, and positioning each mechanism means the process cannot yet be automated.

Can pop-up books be self-published?

Yes, Kelli Anderson’s Alphabet in Motion is a notable example, funded through Kickstarter and self-published under her own imprint. The key considerations are finding a specialist printer, planning for a minimum print run, and budgeting carefully for hand-assembly costs and shipping. And don’t forget how you’re going to market and distribute them!

About Anna Featherstone

Anna Featherstone is a book coach, publishing mentor, and the Alliance of Independent Authors’ (ALLi) Non-Fiction Adviser. She hosts the Production and Distribution stream of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast, one of the top podcasts for writers globally, reaching listeners in 63 countries. Anna is also the author of Look It’s Your Book!, a practical guide to self-publishing non-fiction, and a judge at the Australian Business Book Awards and Australian Society of Travel Writers Awards. She works with non-fiction authors at all stages of the publishing process and is a workshop host for Writing NSW, Byron Writers Festival and a publishing consultant for the Australian Society of Authors. Find her at annafeatherstone.com and sign up for her just-a-couple-of-times-a-year newsletter here.