Tag Archives: jon macy

Lambda Award-Winning Publisher and Author to Meet Seattle Gay and Lesbian Book Club

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Official Press Release

Northwest Press

Lambda Award-Winning Publisher and Author
to Meet Seattle Gay and Lesbian Book Club

Club Has Chosen Teleny and Camille as August Selection

On Wednesday, August 31, the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Book Club will meet for the fifth and final discussion of their August selection: Jon Macy’s graphic novel Teleny and Camille, winner of the 2010 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Erotica. They will be joined by the author via teleconference as well as by Northwest Press publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen in person.
Teleny and Camille was adapted from the anonymous Victorian novel Teleny: Or the Reverse of the Medal, first published in 1893 and widely attributed to Oscar Wilde and his circle of writers and poets. Macy spent eight years adapting the novel as a graphic novel, completing the project in 2010. The graphic novel has been widely praised by critics for its lush art style and frank exploration of a pivotal period in gay history.
“It’s got a gloriously over-the-top gay love story that would be perfect for an opera,” says Nick DiMartino, creator and facilitator of the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Book Club, “but here instead of grand music, the reader is treated to lushly imaginative graphics, a visual symphony for the eyes.”
“There is an agenda here, and it is not simply the visual re-telling of a well-known novel,” wrote John McCrea on Oscholars.com, a site devoted to exploring the literature and arts of the Victorian period. “It is a celebration of that novel and a celebration of what that novel deeply wants to assert. It is an artistic and aesthetic triumph.”
Seattle Gay and Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday from 6pm to 7:15pm at SASG (formerly Dunshee House), at 303 17th Avenue East in Seattle on Capitol Hill, near Group Health Hospital. SASG can be reached by phone at (206) 322-2437.
Copies of Teleny and Camille are available in comics specialty shops, direct from northwestpress.com or digitally through iBooks and Google Books, and previews of the book are available at all digital outlets. You can find a comic shop near you by calling 1-888-COMIC-BOOK or visiting comicshoplocator.com.
Seattle-based Northwest Press is dedicated to publishing the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender comics collections and graphic novels. Teleny and Camille was its first project, published in 2010, and has been followed by Justin Hall’s Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny and David Kelly’s Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics.
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Web links:
SASG: http://sasgcc.org/
Northwest Press: http://northwestpress.com
Seattle Gay and Lesbian Book Club: http://faculty.washington.edu/swittet/SGLBookClub

Two Northwest Press Books are Finalists for Lambda Literary Award

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Official Press Release

Two Northwest Press Books are Finalists for 2010 Lambda Literary Award

SEATTLE, WA (3/16/11)—The Lambda Literary Foundation revealed their finalists for the 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards today, and two Northwest Press books were among them. Jon Macy’s Teleny and Camille is a finalist for Gay Erotica and Justin Hall’s Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny is a finalist for Transgender Fiction. The Awards celebrate annual achievement in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) writing.

“I’m so proud of Jon and Justin for having their work recognized in such a major way,” said Northwest Press publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen. “For a small publisher who’s happy enough just to be doing something he loves, to have these books honored as finalists for a Lammy is so encouraging and gratifying.”

“I’m thrilled with this nomination!” said Hall. “A tremendous amount of work went into creating the Glamazonia book, and it’s wonderful when that pays off in a big way. I’d also like to thank the other comics creators who contributed to this project, including Diego Gomez, Jon Macy, Fred Noland, and Zan Christensen. I feel blessed to be part of an amazing community of LGBT cartoonists and fans, and hope to keep on making entertaining and challenging comics for as long as I can.”

“I’m just really honored and pleased that a graphic novel could be nominated for such a prestigious award,” said Macy. “It makes all the hard work worth it. I also have to say that Northwest Press is the best publisher in the world, keeping the dream alive for LGBT comics creators.”

This year, the Lambda Awards surpassed 2009’s record for number of books nominated and number of publishers participating; the 2010 finalists were selected from more than 520 titles from about 230 publishers. More than 90 booksellers, book reviewers, librarians, authors, previous winners and finalists, and other book professionals participated in selecting the finalists in 24 categories.

“Some of the increase in nominations stems from the growth in recent years of self-published books,” says Lambda Awards Administrator Richard Labonté, “reflecting an expanding reliance on ever-more-accessible publish-on-demand technology by talented LGBT authors with worthwhile stories to tell—a do-it-yourself approach that hearkens back to the late 1970s and 1980s, when lesbians and gay men established their own presses and launched the queer book boom. The books came, and the Lammys soon followed.”

“These record-breaking numbers are occurring at a time when the publishing industry is under siege and we hear report after report on the death of books,” said Lambda Literary Foundation Board Co-Chair, Dr. Judith Markowitz, “What’s even more heartening is that the quality of those nominations is extremely high. All of this bodes well for the future of LGBT literature and for the Foundation’s continued role in advocating on behalf of that literature.”

Winners of the 23rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards will be announced at a May 26 ceremony in New York at the School of Visual Arts Theater (333 West 23rd Street).

Teleny and Camille and Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny are the first two graphic novel releases from Northwest Press, which was founded in 2010 by publisher Charles “Zan” Christensen. The next Northwest Press book, David Kelly’s Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics will be on store shelves at the end of March, and features a foreword by It Gets Better Project founder Dan Savage.

Northwest Press will be attending the C2E2 comic book convention in Chicago, March 18th-20th, as a guest of Prism Comics, where it will debut Rainy Day Recess and Christensen will appear on a panel discussion about LGBT comics.

About Northwest Press
Northwest Press is a publisher founded in 2010 that is dedicated to publishing the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) graphic novels and comics collections. Northwest Press has a mission to find and publish the best quality LGBT comics work in a polished, professional format, and bring it to as wide an audience as possible.

Prism Comics Expands Presence at Emerald City ComiCon

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Official Press Release PRESS RELEASE

Seattle, WA (2/25/11)—Prism Comics, the premier organization supporting LGBT comics, creators and readers, will be returning once again to Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, which takes place March 4th through the 6th at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. Prism is expanding its presence at the show this year, hosting its first-ever panel discussion at the show on Friday evening as well as offsite social events at Pony on Friday and The Local Vine on Sunday.

All weekend at the convention, Prism will offer a wide selection of comics and related items that are of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers at their exhibitor booth. Prism also provides free space for comics artists and writers who do not have their own exhibition space, so that they can sell their books and meet with their fans.

Special guests this year include Jeff Krell, creator of the groundbreaking gay comic strip Jayson, Jon Macy, author of the graphic novel Teleny and Camille and Queer Press Grant recipient for his fantasy series Fearful Hunter, Sean-Z, creator of the erotic fantasy series Myth and comics fandom website Fanboys of the Universe.

The “LGBT Comics Panel” takes place on Friday at 6pm at the show, moderated by Charles “Zan” Christensen (President of Prism Comics and Publisher of Northwest Press) and featuring David Kelly (Rainy Day Recess: The Complete Steven’s Comics), Erika Moen (DAR!), Jeff Krell, Jon Macy, Sean-Z and Stephen Sadowski (Warlord of Mars, JSA).

“How do mainstream comics stack up against indies on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters?” reads the official description of the panel. “Is there still a tendency to push gay characters to ‘mature readers’ comics? Or, with the launch of DC Comics’ Batwoman, featuring the first lesbian superhero to headline her own book, and the introduction of Kevin Keller, Archie Comics’ first gay character, is being gay simply becoming a non-issue in comics?”

Friday’s afterparty takes place at Pony (1221 E Madison St) at 8pm, and features t-shirts, comics and graphic novel door prizes donated by Northwest Press, Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf) and Paige Braddock (Jane’s World). On Sunday, Prism is organizing a “big gay dinner” at The Local Vine (1410 12th Avenue). Attendees are urged to RSVP through Facebook to give the venue an idea of the headcount beforehand.

This is the seventh Emerald City Comic Con for Prism, whose founder and current President, Charles “Zan” Christensen, is a Seattle resident and organizes Prism’s appearance at the show.

“I’m glad we’re at the show in an even bigger way this year,” said Christensen. “In addition to the panel and the offsite events, we’ve doubled our convention space this year and are really looking forward to our best Emerald City ComiCon yet!”

Prism was founded in 2003 and is funded by donations from the LGBT and comics communities. It provides an annual Queer Press Grant to support independent comics creators and appears at many other conventions during the year, including Comic-Con International in San Diego and WonderCon and Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. This year, the organization will also be attending New York Comic-Con, Toronto Comic Arts Fest and C2E2 in Chicago.

Links:

Prism Comics

Prism Comics at Emerald City ComiCon (Facebook)

Prism Comics’ Big Gay Post-ComiCon Dinner (Facebook)

Full Emerald City ComiCon Program Schedule

Prism Comics is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) creators, characters, themes and readers in the comic book field. Along with convention appearances, Prism publishes an annual guide (Prism Comics: Your LGBT Guide to Comics), and maintains a website with LGBT creator listings and features on all that’s queer in comics.