Small Press Expo has announced the Programming Schedule for SPX 2019. SPX is continuing the festival’s established tradition of rich, thought-provoking programming featuring leading comics artists and critics in conversation. As in previous years, the Programming Schedule features 22 sessions with two simultaneous tracks on both Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15.

See Raina Telgemeier, Eleanor Davis, Keith Knight, Chris Ware and Emily Carroll, along with all of the other Special Guests, in a wide variety of engaging panel discussions as part of SPX 2019.

In addition to the program panels, there are also 14 workshops with Special Guests and exhibitors being conducted by Pittsburgh-based Comics Workbook, you can sign up for the workshops here.

Here are some highlights:

• Chris Ware And Eddie Campbell In Conversation: Chris Ware (Rusty Brown) and Eddie Campbell (The Goat Getters) are not only two of the most accomplished cartoonists in the world, they are also experts on its history. Moderator Craig Fischer (Appalachian State University) will join them in a wide-ranging conversation about comics’ roots, their current work, being a cartoonist in Chicago, and whatever else strikes their fancy.  

• Jaime Hernandez and Katie Skelly In Conversation: Jaime Hernandez (Love And Rockets) and Katie Skelly (My Pretty Vampire, Maids) are known for their pulp roots, drawing beautiful & fashionable women, and creating memorable characters that have a profound impact on their readers. Rachel S. Miller (Ohio State University) will join them in a discussion delving into their unique drawing styles, inspirations, and shared cultural fascinations.  

• Racial Illiteracy: Harvey, Glyph and Inkpot award-winning indie cartoonist Keith Knight crashes SPX with an all-new slideshow addressing America’s Racial Illiteracy. Using comix, story-telling, and humor, ye olde Gentleman Cartoonist gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to America’s biggest problem. Tea will be served.

• Libraries And Comics: Past, Present, And Future: Over the past twenty years, libraries and the comics industry at all levels have been working together to forge bonds that have benefited both. Comics and graphic novels have become a huge draw for libraries, who also use their resources for comics festivals and workshops. Libraries have become an essential client for publishers at all levels, emerging as a crucial part of their bottom line. Critic Chris Mautner explores the evolving nature of this relationship with Kathy Schalk-Green (of the American Library Association), Megan Halsband (from the Library of Congress), Jacq Cohen (representing Fantagraphics Books), and cartoonist Raina Telgemeier (award-winning and best-selling author of Smile, Drama, Sisters and her newest book, Guts).  

• Queer Science Fiction And World Building: Science fiction has long been used as a means to address any number of society’s ills through the use of alien settings and advanced technology. Many cartoonists address queer-specific issues in the way that they actually create the foundations of their worlds. Critic and publisherCarta Monir will moderate Hannah Templer (Cosmoknights), Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (What Is Left), Shing Yin Khor (Salvage Station No. 8), and Alison Wilgus (Chronin) as they discuss how their settings create explicitly and implicitly relate queer themes.  

• Birthing Stories: There have been a number of extraordinary comics published about pregnancy and motherhood in recent years. Carol Tyler (Late Bloomer, Soldier’s Heart) blazed the trail in this regard thirty years ago, and she will moderate an all-star assemblage of cartoonists to discuss the experience of giving birth. Join Lucy Knisley (Kid Gloves), Marnie Galloway (Slightly Plural), Meghan Turbitt (Laughter Birth), Lauren Weinstein (Mother’s Walk), and Rachel Masilamani (We Conceive) as they offer a wide variety of perspectives on their own birthing stories.