From an interview with Tomine by Greg Yano in the Nichi Bei Times:

NBT: How did you get involved with doing illustrations for The New Yorker?

AT: I’ve never had any great ambitions to be an illustrator, but as a result of my comic book, a number of illustration jobs have fallen into my lap. But the New Yorker was the one place that I really wanted to work for, and they weren’t taking the initiative to make that happen! So when I visited New York after graduating from college, I actually did the old-fashioned ritual of the portfolio drop-off. I went to the New Yorker offices on the appointed day and left some samples of my work. It was all very intimidating to me...I was pretty young and I felt like a country bumpkin getting lost in the big city. Just dealing with the receptionist at the office was intimidating to me. But then I went back to California, and a few weeks later, an art director from the New Yorker called me up and gave me my first job, and I’ve been working for them now for almost ten years. And I still love the magazine...It’s the only one I subscribe to and read religiously.