Ty Billman graduated with a BA from the University of Chicago where he also began his career in publishing at the University of Chicago Press in the Humanities Division. He is drawn by highly visual and prescriptive non-fiction including Cooking, Art, Craft, and Design.
He has worked as a recipe developer and developmental writer for a member of the French Legion of Honor and Michelin-starred chef as well as a writer and editor for the international arts and culture magazine, Kyoto Journal. As guest-editor for the 97th issue of the magazine, he collaborated with author Pico Iyer, poet Forrest Gander, photographer Omar Victor Diop, potter Kenta Nakazato, and tea-ceremony master Fuyuko Kobori to explore stories of intergenerational evolution of culture and tradition.
He has since trained in kitchens and bakeries but also has a deep appreciation for farming and food cultivation from years of working on a New England oyster farm. He is looking for projects that push the limits of technical and narrative integration featuring visual design paired with unique and unexpected voices.