The American Library Association’s Annual Summer Conference kicks off this weekend in Washington, DC and there’s quite a lot of discussion about graphic novels and comic books. It should be interesting to see what comes out of this concerning all of the recent news that libraries are struggling on how to handle graphic novels and comic books.
Below is all of the panels concerning comic books and video games.
ALA ANNUAL SUMMER CONFERENCE 2010
WASHINGTON, DC
GRAPHIC NOVEL and GAMING PROGRAMS
Brought to you by Diamond Book Distributors and ALA Show Management
FRIDAY, JUNE 25
6:00 PM -7:00 PM
Graphic Novel Drink and Draw
Presented by Hermes Press
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion
Featuring: Andy Runton, James Kochalka, Amy Ignatow,
The Fillbach Brothers, The UNSHELVED guys; Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
SATURDAY, JUNE 26
9:30 AM – 10: 00 AM
IDW’s Big Graphic Novel Preview.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
From the publisher who brought you 30 Days of Night, Transformers, The Complete Bloom County and Michael Recycle comes another great season of fantastic graphic novels.
10:00 AM – 10:30AM
Authors on The Pavilion: Amy Ignatow, The Popularity Papers (Abrams)
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
Amy Ignatow’s hilarious debut graphic novel introduces the intrepid fifth-graders Julie and Lydia, whose quest to understand popularity may not succeed in the ways they want, but will succeed in keeping readers in stitches.
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
The Art of Graphic Novel Collection Development: Finding the best approach to select, shelve and promote great lists for kids, tweens, teens, and adult collections.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Whether your collection is for the classroom, school library center, public library or retail operation, there are some basic guidelines to follow that can help you create a solid foundation for your collection. This program will provide an introductory approach and things that can influence the kinds of books you shelve: community atmosphere, market objectives and methods for creating an effective program to reach your goals.
Kat Kan, MLS (Brodart), Jill Faherty (Baker & Taylor), Joseph Miller (HW Wilson), Tyler Rousseau MLS (Monroe Twp. Public Library)
Moderated by Gene Ambaum (Unshelved)
11:30AM – 12:30PM
The Best Manga You’re Not Reading
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
So little time, so much manga … and from ever more publishers! The New York Times and the market watchers can tell us the best-sellers, but there are always those hidden gems beyond the hypes du jour. The people on this panel see such a wide variety of genres within the manga category that this is your opportunity to find out about the brilliant ‘little’ books they’ve discovered.
Brigid Alverson (Good Comics for Kids/School Library Journal), Robin Brenner (MLS), Kate Dacey (MLS)
Moderated by Martha Cornog (Library Journal)
Panelists
Brigid Alverson grew up reading American and British comics and developed a passion for manga late in life. She is the blogger at MangaBlog and editor of Good Comics for Kids. She also writes about comics for Publishers Weekly Comics Week, Comics Foundry, Robot6 and other publications. You can see examples of her non-comics journalism at her personal site. She lives north of Boston with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Robin Brenner is the teen librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts. She was the chair of the ALA/YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection List Committee in 2008, was a judge for the 2007 Eisner awards, reviews manga for Teenreads.com and anime for Video Librarian, and regularly gives lectures and workshops on graphic novels, manga, and anime. Her guide Understanding Manga and Anime was nominated for a 2008 Eisner Award. She also hosts a website on graphic novels, noflyingnotights.com, along with two sister sites, Sidekicks, for children through age 12; and the Lair, for older teens and adults.
By day, Katherine Dacey is a graduate student with a passion for Russian music; by night, she’s the Senior Manga Editor at PopCultureShock, where she blogs about anime, manga, and graphic novels. She counts Rumiko Takahashi, Masashi Tanaka, and Keiko Takemiya among her favorite comic artists.
Moderator: Martha Cornog has been graphic novel columnist and reviewer for Library Journal since 2006 and with husband Timothy Perper co-edited Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries (2009) and the forthcoming Mangatopia: Essays on Manga and Anime in the Modern World. She holds an MLS from Drexel University and has worked in academic and public libraries.
1:00 PM – 1:30PM
Graphic Novel Events for Your Library and/or School: The benefits and how-to’s of creating clubs, presentations and workshops.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion
Presenters will discuss the elements needed to create commonly successful programs that generate ‘community buzz’ and attract new patrons, tweens and teens as well as adult readers to your library.
Snow Wildsmith MLS, Alex Simmons, Author and Founder of Kids Comic Con NY and Norah Curry, Promotions Director, Laughing Ogre Comics
Alex Simmons is a professional freelance writer, teaching artist, guest speaker, as well as an arts and education consultant. He is also the founder and co-producer of the Kids’ Comic Con as well as the Color of Comics art exhibition. Alex was recently awarded a 2010 Glyph award for his writing for the Archies comics series.
Snow Wildsmith is a teen librarian and writer. She has served on committees for the American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association, including the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award Committee, the 2009 and 2008 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Committees, and the 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee. She reviews graphic novels for Booklist, ICv2’s Guide, No Flying No Tights, and Good Comics for Kids and also writes booktalks and creates recommended reading lists for Ebsco’s NoveList database. Currently she is working on a nonfiction book series for teens.
Norah Curry is the Promotions Director at Laughing Ogre Comics, a family of three comic book stores. She has an BA in Art History and History from the University of Iowa , and an MA in the History of Art and Architecture from the University of Pittsburgh . She is a life-long comic book fan and her mom is a library director.
1:30 PM – 2:00PM
Who Wouldn’t Want to Be A Superhero?
The science and sociology behind the men and women who don ‘capes and tights’.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion
Behind every superhero and villain lies a complex mix of ideology, mythology, morality and conflict. In addition to that, you also have the scientific methodologies which are applied to the every-day lives of the men and women who are destined to ruin the planet or, who are determined to save it. How does Iron Man fly? Why does Wonder Woman use a lasso? Who wouldn’t want to have a superhuman ability that can save the human race? There’s a great deal taking place behind the eyes of the ones who wear the mask.
Presented by Alex Simmons Alex is a professional freelance writer, teaching artist, guest speaker, as well as an arts and education consultant. He is also the founder and co-producer of the Kids’ Comic Con as well as the Color of Comics art exhibition. Alex was recently awarded a 2010 Glyph award for his writing for the Archies comics series.
2: 00 – 2:30PM
Introducing the Mavericks from the Texas Library Association.
Sponsored by Mackin Library Services
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Recognition of the graphic novel format took on a new level of credibility when the Texas Library Association’s YART committee introduced The Maverick’s. How did this project come about? Come sit in on the discussion and get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a new generation of influential voices in the library world.
WyLaina Hildreth, Alicia Holston, and Tuan Nguyen Moderated by Tyler Rousseau
Panelists
WyLaina Hildreth is a Senior Librarian at the Denton Public Library in Denton, Texas. She is chair of the Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List. If she could have a superpower, she would wish to be invisible.
Alicia Holston is a 2009 graduate of the MLS program at the University of North Texas. She was instrumental in the creation of the Maverick Graphic Novel List Committee for the Texas Library Association. Alicia is an active member of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and promotes literacy and liberty through the promotion of graphic novels in libraries.
Tuan Nguyen is a Library Consultant for Mackin Educational Resources and has been consulting for the past 8 years. He helped develop the Maverick Graphic Novel Committee for the Texas Library Association with Alicia Holston and WyLaina Hildreth. Tuan is currently working on his Master in Library Science at the University of North Texas and is undefeated in death matches.
Moderator: Tyler Rousseau is the Emergent Technologies Librarian at the Monroe Township Public Library in New Jersey where he also maintains their Adult Graphic Novels collection. He was recently published in the book “Teaching Gen M” where he wrote about the rising popularity of Webcomics among readers and writers.
2: 30 PM – 3: 00PM
TOON Books Big Graphic Novel Preview.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Editorial Director, Francoise Mouly will present the latest news on the next great books from this award- winning publisher of children’s comics. The TOON Books Preview will feature a great new series from first-time author/creators Nadja Spiegelman and Trade Loeffller called: Zig and Wikki . In Something Ate My Homework, Zig and Wikki land on a planet full of strange creatures like flies, frogs, and raccoons, just when it seems to be lunchtime! In their hilarious search for a pet, the two friends, imagined by Nadja Spiegelman and Trade Loeffler, go on adventures that are out of this world. Young readers learn about nature in our world thanks to the fascinating wikki’s fun facts woven into every twist of the exciting plot. This innovative science-based early reader comic book, filled with bugs and hugs, is sure to please both boys and girls.
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
NBM/PaperCutz Big Graphic Novel Preview
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
Papercutz, a new graphic novel publishing company for tweens 8-14, launched in the spring of 2005 with the Hardy Boys and landing on the New York Times best-seller list with the introduction of an all-new Nancy Drew series. Papercutz also publishes other great tween focused graphic novel series: Bionicle, Tales from the Crypt, Classics Illustrated, Geronimo Stilton, Disney Fairies, and new for fall 2010, The Smurfs!
3:30 PM – 4:00PM
Dark Horse Comics’ Big Graphic Novel Preview.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
From the publisher that brought you Hellboy, The Umbrella Academy, 300 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer come some great new titles for 2010 including the exciting new graphic novel Trouble Maker by the New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich and Heart Transplant by renowned author Andrew Vachs.
4: 00 PM – 5:00PM
Cosplay on Parade (Cocktail Reception)
Sponsored by: Japanime/Manga University
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Librarians who use cosplay or, costume play events have discovered yet another fun patron event which generates even more excitement and awareness about their libraries for the communities they serve. Each librarian will be introduced and interviewed about the costume they are wearing, what character they represent and from what series the character originated. They will also provide handouts detailing successful cosplay events.
About the Sponsor: Japanime/Manga University is Japan’s leading publisher of English-language educational manga.
SUNDAY JUNE 27
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Using Gaming and Graphic Novels to Market Library Services
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
From sneakers to Hollywood movies to the cover of Library Journal, the intellectual properties for gaming and comic companies are highly recognizable and can help us connect our materials collections to users and increase attendance numbers for programming. Join us as we share successful practices for marketing existing programs and collections, give bibliographies to build and increase recognizablity in materials collections, and tie our programs and collections together to add value to our users’ experience.
J. P. Porcaro MLS
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Art Spiegelman Book Signing Jack and the Box (TOON Books)
Diamond Booth in the Graphic Novel Pavilion #2453
10:00AM – 11:00 AM
Authors on the Pavilion: The Fillbach Brothers, Star Wars Clone Wars (Dark Horse Comics)
Sponsored by Laughing Ogre Comics
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Matt and Shawn Fillbach, the artistic team behind the smash hit series Star Wars Clone Wars (Dark Horse Comics) will talk about their latest works. The brothers are also the creative force behind this year’s new graphic for the Graphic Novel Pavilion.
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Authors on the Pavilion: Barry Lyga with Colleen Doran: A Sneak Preview to His First Graphic Novel
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion
Barry Lyga’s first two novels, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, and Boy Toy, both received excellent reviews and have established him as a rising force in the world of young adult literature. Now, with his first graphic novel (published by Houghton Mifflin) on the way, Barry and his creative partner on the project, Colleen (A Distant Soil, Orbiter) Doran, will be here to give a sneak peek at the book and to talk about the process of collaboration on a graphic novel.
11:30AM – 12:00PM
W.W. Norton Big Graphic Novel Preview
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Join in on a conversation with Executive Editor Robert Weil about working with famed Underground cartoonist–and author of the current bestseller “The Book of Genesis”— R. Crumb. We will explore the creative process of R. Crumb’s planning, research, and working with his editor on “Genesis”, as well as future collaborations with Mr. Crumb, his wife cartoonist Aline Kominsky–Crumb, and concluding with a sneak preview of their cartoonist daughter Sophie Crumb’s new magnum opus, “Evolution of a Crazy Artist”, due out in November, edited by them. Robert Weil, in addition to editing the Crumb family, is also editor of the Alex and Rusa award winner “Stitches” by David Small, as well as “The Hemingses of Monticello” which won both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for 2008, among many others.
12:00 AM – 12:30PM
Authors on the Pavilion: a Conversation with Tracy White, How I Made it to Eighteen (Roaring Brook)
Moderated by Karen Green MLS
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
How I Made it to Eighteen is about what happens when a girl: 1) Hates herself and her life 2) Has a breakdown 3) Admits herself into a mental hospital 4) Realizes she is in TROUBLE 5) Finally starts talking (and stops lying). 6) And then writes a book about her experiences.
Moderator: Karen Green is a librarian at Columbia University in New York City, where she is responsible for Ancient and Medieval History and for Graphic Novels. She also writes “Comic Adventures in Academia,” a monthly column for ComiXology.com, which examines the role comics can play in an academic setting.
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
10 Reasons Board Games WIN
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion
The authors of Libraries Got Game: Aligned Learning Through Modern Board Games, reveal reasons why modern board games need to be a part of your collection. From curriculum alignments to the creation of socially networked learning, the games that make their top lists are proven hits in K–12 libraries. Learn how librarians have already found success using games as instructional resources and as a surefire way to draw kids to the library.
Presented by Christopher Harris MLS and Brian Mayer MLS
1:30 PM – 2:00PM
Hermes Press Big Graphic Novel Preview.
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
A publisher of brilliant nostalgia comics collections like Buck Rodgers, Andru & Esposito’s Get Lost! brings you a great new season of classics from Dark Shadows, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and more!
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
The Fillbach Brothers Book signing
Baker & Taylor Booth #3741
2:00 PM – 2:30PM
Judging the Eisners
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
Kat Kan MLS (Eisner Judge 2005), Robin Brenner MLS (2006), Eva Volin MLS (2007), Mike Pawuk MLS (2008), Francisca Goldsmith MLS (2010)
Moderated by Rich Johnson GN publishing consultant
The Eisner Awards are considered to be ‘The Oscars’ for the comics publishing industry and in 2005 librarians were invited onto the judges committee for these prestigious awards. What was the experience like? What impact have the Eisner’s had in the library market since that first librarian(Kat Kan) was invited to become a member of this exclusive club.
About the panelists:
Francisca Goldsmith is the director of branch services of Halifax Public Libraries in Nova Scotia and has been working with readers, and graphic novels for more than 20 years. An active member of YALSA, she helped to facilitate ALA’s first graphic-novel-focused preconference in 2002, and she organized a sequential-art-themed preconference at YALSA’s first Young Adult Literature Symposium in 2008. She teaches library staff members who are becoming familiar with graphic novels through YALSA and the California State Library’s Infopeople Project. She is the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels (American Library Association 2010) and Graphic Novels Now: Building, Managing, and Marketing a Dynamic Collection (American Library Association, 2005. ) She has been chosen to serve as a judge for the Eisner Awards at Comic-Con 2010.
Mike Pawuk has been a teen services public librarian for the Cuyahoga County Public Library for over 12 years. A lifelong fan of comic books and graphic novels, he’s been recognized as one of the leading librarians in the country on this medium. Mike was the chair for the 2002 YALSA all-day preconference on graphic novels, and he regularly does presentations for libraries on building graphic novel collections. He is the author of Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More, published by Libraries Unlimited. Currently, Pawuk does graphic novels reviews for the IVC2.com popular culture website and is serving on the American Library Association’s Great Graphic Novels for Young Adults book selection committee.
Robin Brenner is the teen librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts. She was the chair of the ALA/YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection List Committee in 2008, was a judge for the 2007 Eisner awards, reviews manga for Teenreads.com and anime for Video Librarian, and regularly gives lectures and workshops on graphic novels, manga, and anime. Her guide Understanding Manga and Anime was nominated for a 2008 Eisner Award. She also hosts a website on graphic novels, noflyingnotights.com, along with two sister sites, Sidekicks, for children through age 12; and the Lair, for older teens and adults.
Eva Volin is the supervising children’s librarian for the Alameda Free Library in Alameda, California. She is the chair of the ALA/YALSA 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee and was a judge for the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Eva chaired the Hot Fall GN Titles for Libraries committee in 2009 – 10 for Book Expo America. She also reviews graphic novels for NoFlyingNoTights.com, Good Comics for Kids, and ICv2 Guide to Manga, and she reviews light novels for MangaCast.net.
Moderator: Rich Johnson has worked at DC Comics where he was V.P. Book Trade Sales and was at the forefront of establishing graphic novels in bookstores and libraries. He is also the co-founder of Yen Press. He currently is a graphic novel and publishing consultant and is the author of the graphic memoir My Father’s Eyes.
2:30 PM – 3:00PM
Abrams Big Graphic Novel Preview
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
In 1973, Abrams, a premier publisher of art books, published The Art of Walt Disney by Christopher Finch, presenting this work as art in the same way we published books on Rockwell, Picasso, and Rembrandt. Since then, Abrams has published many groundbreaking books on comics art, and with the launch of Abrams ComicArts in 2009, we continue to celebrate the world of comics art and graphic novels, publishing Kirby: King of Comics, The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, The Art of Jaime Hernandez, and The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis among many others.
This fall brings more riches, including The Night Bookmobile by acclaimed author Audrey Niffenegger and a collection of banned 1950s comics, The Horror, The Horror. And Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books continue to publish comics for kids, including the upcoming Hereville by Barry Deutsch and the fifth Diary of a Wimpy Kid novel by Jeff Kinney.
3:00 PM – 3: 30PM
Authors on the Pavilion: Geoffrey Hayes, Benny & Penny Series (TOON Books)
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
His Benny & Penny series for TOON Books has garnered excellent praise from librarians, teachers and booksellers across the country. This past January, his second book in the series Benny and Penny in The Big No-No won the Geisel Honor. Come hear Geoffrey talk about his newest book Benny and Penny in The Toy Breaker.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Video Game Collection Development: The Basics
Graphic Novel /Gaming Pavilion Stage
J. P. Porcaro MLS and Justin Hoenke MLS
Libraries by definition are collections of media. Librarians have terrific resources on building and maintaining material collections in various media (such as books, DVDs, and CDs). However, there is a severe lack of information on how to build and maintain a loanable video game collection. This session will give attendees a solid foundation for starting and maintaining a video game collection, with a specific focus on collection development tools and budgeting. It will also cover how schools and libraries can work together using gaming as a media tool, and sustaining the quality and relevance of game collections.
MONDAY, JUNE 28
Graphic Novel Monday on the Pop Top Stage
9:15 AM – 10:10 AM
Great Graphic Novels for Teens: Ground zero for a cultural shift in American publishing.
Pop Top Stage
Sponsored by Unshleved.com
Moderated by: Pam Spencer-Holly Fmr. Pres. Young Adult Library Services Association
Panelists: Robin Brenner MLS, Michele Gorman MLS, Kat Kan MLS, Mike Pawuk MLS, Jody Sharp MLS
Introduction by: Gene Ambaum, Unshelved
Graphic novels have continued to enjoy tremendous growth throughout the first decade of this new millennium, but the most influential element in the success of the format has been the librarian. The team of librarians who were brought together to form the Graphic Novel Task Force for YALSA led the way to the creation of the Great Graphic Novels For Teen Committee. What was the experience like? How has the library world changed since that moment? Where are we headed next? Can a librarian change the world? Most definitely!
About the panelists:
Robin Brenner is the teen librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts. She was the chair of the ALA/YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection List Committee in 2008, was a judge for the 2007 Eisner awards, reviews manga for Teenreads.com and anime for Video Librarian, and regularly gives lectures and workshops on graphic novels, manga, and anime. Her guide Understanding Manga and Anime was nominated for a 2008 Eisner Award. She also hosts a website on graphic novels, noflyingnotights.com, along with two sister sites, Sidekicks, for children through age 12; and the Lair, for older teens and adults.
Michele Gorman is the Teen Services Coordinator for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in Charlotte NC. In addition to her job as the Teen Services Coordinator. She is the “Getting Graphic” Columnist for Library Media Connection and her books include Getting Graphic! Comics for Kids, Getting Graphic! Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Preteens and Teens and Connecting Young Adults and Libraries: A How to Do It Manual. Michele is also the Editorial Director for Neal Schuman’s “Teens @ the Library!” Series.
Kat Kan has been reading comics for half a century, and she’s been a librarian for more than a quarter-century; she’s been a graphic novel “pusher” her entire library career. After more than two decades as a YA librarian in public libraries, she currently works as a Collection Development Librarian specializing in graphic novels for Brodart, the graphic novel consultant for H. W. Wilson, and as a part time school librarian in a private preK-8th grade school. She also writes the “Graphically Speaking” column for Voice of Youth Advocates, and she reviews for VOYA and for Booklist. Kat was selected to be the first librarian to serve as an Eisner Judge in 2006.
Mike Pawuk has been a teen services public librarian for the Cuyahoga County Public Library for over 12 years. A lifelong fan of comic books and graphic novels, he’s been recognized as one of the leading librarians in the country on this medium. Mike was the chair for the 2002 YALSA all-day preconference on graphic novels, and he regularly does presentations for libraries on building graphic novel collections. He is the author of Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More, published by Libraries Unlimited. Currently, Pawuk does graphic novels reviews for the IVC2.com popular culture website and is serving on the American Library Association’s Great Graphic Novels for Young Adults book selection committee. Mike served as an Eisner Judge in 2009.
Jody Sharp is a librarian & Technical Services Coordinator with Baltimore County Public Library, Baltimore Maryland.
Moderator: Pam Spencer Holley is the retired library coordinator for Fairfax County Virginia Public Schools and a past president of the Young Adult Library Services Association. She recently edited YALSA’s Quick and Popular Reads for Teens, consults for HW Wilson, and recommends YA titles for Gale’s Books and Authors Online Database.
Presenter: Gene Ambaum writes the daily webcomic: Unshelved, with Bill Barnes. In the past he worked as a paper boy, auto mechanic, English teacher, operations manager, librarian, and staff development coordinator. He now spends all day in his kitchen.
9:30AM -10:00AM
Authors on the Pavilion: David Steinberg, The LOUD BOY Series (Grosset & Dunlap/Penguin)
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
Daniel Boom, due to a mysterious accident immediately after his birth, has an unusually loud voice. On his tenth birthday, he meets three other kids at his new school. They all have some mysterious traits in common and under the guidance of Daniel’s eccentric Uncle Stanley set out on a career of saving the world, having transformed the abilities that constantly get them into trouble into powers they use for good.
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Zenescope’s Big Graphic Novel Preview
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
From the publisher of Grimm Fairy Tales, currently the longest running independent comic series, Zenescope Entertainment brings you its newest Grimm spin-off series Neverland and Escape from Wonderland; the final chapter to the Wonderland Trilogy. Zenescope is also proud to announce a new licensed graphic novel based on the hit TV series Charmed and introduces its kids and tween imprint, Silver Dragon Books. The first title from the line, Discovery Channel’s Top Ten Deadliest Sharks, is based on Discovery’s thrilling, action packed Shark Week programming.
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Top Shelf’s Big Graphic Novel Preview/ Top Shelf in 2010: Top-of-the-line graphic novels for old and young
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
From Owly and Johnny Boo to Blankets and Essex County to From Hell and The Surrogates, Top Shelf Productions has spent a dozen years publishing a variety of great graphic novels, united only by rich storytelling and fine craftsmanship. Marketing director Leigh Walton presents a guided tour of the latest new and upcoming releases from one of the most acclaimed indy publishing houses in comics. Look for hilarious new children’s books by Johnny Boo author James Kochalka, a groundbreaking collection of adult-oriented Japanese comics, the extremely well-reviewed tale of Nazi occupation and art smuggling Moving Pictures, and a new conspiracy thriller from the writer of the New York Times bestselling blockbuster The Surrogates — plus much more!
11:30 AM – 12:00
Image Comics Big Graphic Novel Preview
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
12:30 PM – 1:30PM
Superbooks: How Graphic Novels Can Save Your Library with Amazing Circulation Numbers
Christian Zabriskie, Assistant Coordinator of Young Adult Services for Queens Library
Pop Top Stage
Circulation drives funding, it’s a basic fact of the library world. The creation of a dynamic collection of graphic novels has been a boon to libraries all over the country. It’s not surprising to see where graphic novels representing 15% of a YA collection can generate well over 50% of the circ for the collection. What does this mean for the rest of the books in your library? It’s not an argument to replace all the prose titles with graphic novels. It’s an amazing argument for including graphic novels in your collection. In fact, you will wonder why it took so long to discover the reasons.
Christian Zabriskie is the Assistant Coordinator of Young Adult Services for Queens Library where he connects inner-city teens and reading. Prior to becoming a librarian he worked for Houghton Mifflin as both editor and sales rep. He holds an MA in English from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland in addition to his MLS. He is a lifelong fan of comics, having discovered the Silver Age of Marvel when, at age seven, he got all of his older brother’s old comics for Christmas. Since then, he has read every graphic novel he can get his hands on. He also writes and speaks about using graphics, particularly manga, to connect with teen readers.
12:00 PM – 1:00PM
Using Gaming as a tool for Libraries and Classrooms
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion Stage
As gaming grows both in terms of game play time and sales, the video game medium holds an important role in the lives of Americans. On literary terms, games now have a plot, character development, thematic elements, and interactive narrative devices. Games are also forging new ground in terms of user collaboration. When schools and libraries use this popular and meaningful media as a tool to connect with students and users, new growth and successes can be achieved. This session will lift the veil of mystery away from gaming in libraries and classrooms, giving suggestions on where to start and how to continue on with successful game programs and collections. Let us help you use gaming as a tool to connect to this crowd.
Presenters: J. P. Porcaro MLS and Justin Hoenke MLS
Geoffrey Hayes
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM
Diamond Booth Graphic Novel Pavilion
1:00PM – 2:00PM
Authors on the Pavilion: A Conversation With Raina Telgemeier, Smile: A Dental Drama (Scholastic)
Moderated by Brigid Alverson (Good Comics for Kids/School Library Journal)
Graphic Novel/Gaming Pavilion
About SMILE: Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. And on top of all that, there’s still more to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who turn out to be not so friendly. This coming-of-age true story is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever been in middle school, and especially those who have ever had a bit of their own dental drama. *Smile was selected as an honor book for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for non-fiction
Moderator: Brigid Alverson grew up reading American and British comics and developed a passion for manga late in life. She is the blogger at MangaBlog and editor of Good Comics for Kids. She also writes about comics for Publishers Weekly Comics Week, Comics Foundry, Robot6, Paperless Comics, and ComicBookResources. She lives north of Boston with her husband and two teenage daughters.
1:30 – 2:30PM
Reading and Teaching with Graphic Novels: Navigating the Resources
Pop Top Stage
Prof. Katie Monnin, Author; David Serchay, MLS, Author. Sari Wilson, Author and Journalist;
Moderator: Peter Gutierrez, Educational Consultant
These days there can be little doubt about the value of graphic novels—both as circulation booster and as a valid form of contemporary literature. But how to ensure that the full benefits of the medium, as a potent vehicle for content delivery and as an engaging builder of reading skills, are actually being realized for young people? Which web sites, reference books, organizations, and software tools can you leverage to enhance your GN-based programming or book circles? Peter Gutiérrez, a developer of graphic novel teaching guides for Abrams, Bloomsbury USA, and TOON Books, will moderate a panel that will help you locate—and get the most out of—the variety of resources available today.
Panelists:
Dr. Katie Monnin is the author of Teaching Graphic Novels (2010) and the upcoming Teaching Early Reader Comics & Graphic Novels. Dr. Monnin lives in Jacksonville, Florida and is an Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of North Florida.
David S. Serchay is a Youth Services librarian for the Broward County (FL) Library System where he is on the Graphic Novel Selection Committee. He is also the author of the two books: Librarian’s Guide to Graphic Novels for Adults and The Librarian’s Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens from Neal-Schuman and has written and lectured elsewhere on the subject.
Sari Wilson is a New York-based writer, editor, and educational consultant whose clients include Scholastic, Holt McDougal, and Teachers & Writers Collaborative. Her comics writing has been anthologized in From Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women’s Comics. She is currently working on a graphic adaptation for Scholastic.
Moderator
Peter Gutierrez is a contributing editor at ForeWord Reviews, an Eisner-nominated comics creator, and a developer of curricular materials for more than two decades. Working with a variety of publishers, he has created teaching and reading guides to books by Jeff Smith, Shannon Hale, Jeff Kinney, and Art Spiegelman. An NCTE spokesperson on graphic novels, Peter has written about the medium for School Library Journal, the New York Times, and Scholastic.
2:30 – 3:30PM
Graphic Novel Editors: The Masters of Design
POP TOP STAGE
David Saylor (Scholastic); Betsy Mitchell (Del Rey) Maggie Lerhman (Abrams) Margaret Maloney
(Bloomsbury USA) and Glenn Kardy ( Japanime/Manga University)
Moderator: Eva Volin MLS, Alameda Free Library
The editorial process for the graphic novel format can be fairly similar to that of prose and yet it can also be so completely different. These editors represent a “new school” of opportunity for the world of editors. The art of editing a book of art presents an entirely new set of rules and these editors are at the forefront of the industry. How do they choose the books to work on? How does the relationship with the creator affect the end product? This panel will provide an inside look to the elements involved.
Panelists
Glenn Kardy is the founder and CEO of Japanime Co. Ltd., a Tokyo-based publishing company and creative agency known for its Manga University lineup of illustrated educational materials, including the Japanese government award-winning “Kanji de Manga” series and the popular “Manga Cookbook.”
Maggie Lehrman of Abrams Books for Young Readers and Amulet Books edits fiction, graphic novels, and picture books. She holds a degree in English from Harvard. She edited the graphic novels Meanwhile by Jason Shiga, The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow, and the novel My Life in Pink & Green by Lisa Greenwald.
Margaret Maloney‘s love of comics and graphic novels dates from her childhood buying Marvel monthlies at The Comic Shop II in her hometown of Decatur, Alabama. Now an associate editor, she’s worked on as many books about comics as on comics themselves. After helping to update Will Eisner’s instructional books Comics and Sequential Art, Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, and Expressive Anatomy at W. W. Norton & Company, she came to Bloomsbury USA where she is proud to be publishing Dante’s Divine Comedy (a graphic adaptation by Seymour Chwast), Darryl Cunningham’s Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness, and the prose biography Will Eisner: A Dreamer’s Life in Comics by Michael Schumacher. She also edits non-comics related prose (both fiction and nonfiction).
Betsy Mitchell, Editor-in-Chief of Del Rey—which expanded in 2004 to include Del Rey Manga—has worked with many bestselling authors, including Michael Chabon, Terry Brooks, and Naomi Novik. On the graphic novel side, she has edited such projects as In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz and The Talisman comic series by Stephen King and Peter Straub. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.
David Saylor joined Scholastic in 1996 and has since guided the art direction and design of all trade book publishing, including art directing all American editions of the Harry Potter series. In 2005, he became the founding editorial director of Scholastic’s graphic novel imprint, Graphix, which launched with the hugely popular Bone series by Jeff Smith. He’s won many awards and honors including The Society of Illustrators, The New York Times Book Review (Best Illustrated Children’s Books Awards), the Bookbinder’s Guild of New York, and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Saylor received the 1999 LMP Award honoring excellence in graphic design for his work in children’s books. Prior to Scholastic He worked at Random House, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Ticknor and Fields Books for Young Readers, and Houghton Mifflin Children’s Books.
Moderator
Eva Volin is the supervising children’s librarian for the Alameda Free Library in Alameda, California. She is the chair of the ALA/YALSA 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee and was a judge for the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Eva chaired the Hot Fall GN Titles for Libraries committee in 2009 – 10 for Book Expo America. She also reviews graphic novels for NoFlyingNoTights.com, Good Comics for Kids, and ICv2 Guide to Manga, and she reviews light novels for MangaCast.net.
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