Friday, November 21st, 3–4 pm EST
A free livestreamed event.
Celebrating CCS’s 20th Anniversary, two of Vermont’s most acclaimed cartoonists, Alison Bechdel and Tillie Walden ‘16, will share the stage for a rare public conversation about art, place, and the ways Vermont has shaped their work. Both artists have served as Vermont Cartoonist Laureate, and both have made international contributions to the art of comics—Bechdel through her groundbreaking memoirs Fun Home and Are You My Mother?, and Walden through her Eisner Award–winning memoir, Spinning, and space romance, On a Sunbeam.
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White River Junction, VT. September 23, 2025 – No joke! This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS), a nationally recognized institution dedicated to the education and advancement of cartooning and graphic storytelling located in White River Junction, Vermont.
Founded in 2005 by Michelle Ollie and James Sturm, CCS has built an international reputation for training some of the most original and influential voices in comics today. Its alumni have gone on to publish award-winning work, teach, and lead in creative fields across the globe.
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The much-anticipated graphic novel THE WEIGHT by Melissa Mendes ‘10 releases in September by Drawn & Quarterly. Inspired by her late grandfather’s life, Melissa began creating and self-publishing the Ignatz-nominated comic installments in 2014.
“THE WEIGHT is a gut-wrenching graphic novel with the power of a timeless ballad—plaintive and beautiful, shimmering with tenderness and humor.”—James Sturm, award-winning cartoonist and co-founder of The Center for Cartoon Studies.
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This fall, The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) will host a series of low-cost ($5), 90-minute webinars that will be open to the public. All proceeds will go to sponsor zine fests around the USA that CCS supports. This fall webinars will feature CCS alums. Here is the lineup for fall 2025:
The nominees are in for the esteemed Ignatz Awards presented at the annual Small Press Expo, and The Center for Cartoon Studies is happy to announce that several members of our community have been nominated.
The nominees are….
Self-published RUST BELT REVIEW, VOL. 6, by Sean Knickerbocker ‘12 is nominated for Outstanding Anthology. A serialized literary comics anthology, this volume of RUST BELT REVIEW includes works by independent comic and zine artists Andrew Greenstone, Alex Nall, Ana Pando, Ivy Lynn Allie ‘21, and Knickerbocker.
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Laura Terry‘s ’10 latest graphic novel Adorable Empire published by Scholastic is available now!
“Sincere emotions punctuated with funny and magical moments elevate this charming work. Engagingly original, featuring a likable protagonist and plenty of humor and tenderness.” –Kirkus Review
“Terry takes a sensitive look at divorce and navigating parental relationships, the evolving nature of friendships, and gender identity, with characters that have relatable appeal for middle graders. Illustrations have a manga influence, with equal parts bright and fluffy and tween goth…”
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You can now buy SUGAR SHACK by critically-acclaimed cartoonist Lucy Knisley ‘09! SUGAR SHACK is the third and last installment of the popular PEAPOD FARM middle-grade graphic novel series with Random House Graphic.
“For one city-kid turned country girl whose life has been changing nonstop, it seems like its finally time to find her place in her new blended family while settling in for the winter!”—Random House Graphic
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REEL LIFE, the new middle grade graphic novel by Kane Lynch ‘16, is now available via Scholastic Graphix at your local bookstore!
“…A thoughtful drama with richly drawn characters, and a meaningful exercise in empathy for young readers.” –School Library Journal
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100 Goats and Granny! by Atinuke and illustrated by Lauren Hinds ’10 released May 20th!
“…Atinuke’s text rollicks while Hinds’ illustrations urge readers to slow down to take in every delicious detail. . . Great goatish fun.” –Kirkus Reviews
Congratulations to CCS alumni who made the American Library Association ALA’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading list!
Coco Fox ‘19 for LET’S GO, COCO!; HarperAlley.
Colleen Frakes ‘07 for KNOTS; HarperAlley.
Emma Hunsinger ‘20 for HOW IT ALL ENDS; Green Willow Books.
TillieWalden ‘16 for art for TEGAN AND SARA: CRUSH; Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Luke Healy ‘14 for color for CURLFRIENDS: NEW IN TOWN by Sharee Miller; Little, Brown Ink.
More on books by alumni:
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Congratulations to the Class of 2025! An exhibit featuring work by the graduating class is on display at the CCS Gallery. The gallery is located at 94 South Main Street, in downtown White River Junction, in the Colodny building. Exhibit hours are Monday through Friday, 12 noon to 4 pm, and White River Junction’s First Friday (June 6), from 5-8pm The Thesis Exhibition will be on display and open to the public until June 9. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025:
Adrienne Adkins
Sydney Austin
Amelia B.C. Dutton
Maia Foster O’Neal
Clayton Fralin
Edea Lee Giang
Taylor Hunt
Sofia Martin
Joshua Murdock
Fernanda Nocedal
Jimmy Pavlick
Fern Pellerin
Gabrielle Peñalver Dumas
Malcolm Smith
A print copy of our new graphic guide, Art & Courage: A Guide to Sustaining a Creative Path, has been sent to all those on our mailing list as a part of this year’s annual appeal! Look for it arriving at your doorstep very soon!
Please consider donating to CCS today as we embark on celebrating 20 years of educating the world’s best and brightest comics talent.
All of The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) comics are available as a free digital download! Read Art & Courage online now or order the print edition.
“Self-Esteem and the End of the World (such an excellent title) may be described as autofiction. But the word “cartoon” is key here, because while regular autofiction is rarely funny – more often, it’s the polar opposite – Healy’s book is hilarious.” –The Guardian
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For immediate release
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VERMONT – Each year, The Cartoonist Studio Prize will be awarded to work that exemplifies excellence in cartooning. The creators of two exceptional comics will be awarded $1,000 each. This year, there are twelve nominees in each the “long-form” category and the “short-form” category. The winners for each category will be announced in April 2025.
The nominees for Best Long-Form Comic are:
Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang (First Second)
Boy Island by Leo Fox (Silver Sprocket)
Evil Eyes Sea by Özge Samancı (Uncivilized Books)
Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (MCD)
Golem Pit 224 by Julia Gootzeit (Fieldmouse Press)
The Gulf by Adam de Souza (Tundra Book)
K is in Trouble by Gary Clement (Little, Brown Ink)
Petar & Liza by Miroslav Sekulic-Struja, translated by Jenna Allen (Fantagraphics Books)
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April 2, 2025
This year’s annual WILL EISNER SPRING LECTURE features award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Eleanor Davis, whose work explores personal and political themes with striking visual storytelling. The talk is co-sponsored by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) and The Leslie Center for the Humanities at Dartmouth College with the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation.
When: Thursday, April 17, 4:30 pm
Where: Moore B03 at Dartmouth College
Free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Eleanor Davis is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator. In 2009, Davis won the Eisner’s Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award and was named one of Print magazine’s New Visual Artists. Her books include How To Be Happy (2014), You and a Bike and a Road (2017), Why Art? (2018), and The Hard Tomorrow (2019), which won the LA Times Book Prize for Graphic Novels and Comics and the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Story. The New York Review of Books calls Eleanor Davis “one of the very best cartoonists working today.”
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A free self-directed eCourse to improve your cartooning skills. Online, Start Anytime!
Click here to learn more and make an online donation now.
We hope Art & Courage, will help readers feel a little more prepared for whatever creative journey they embark upon. Click here to read a free digital edition or to order print copies. This 32-page comic is filled with
Cartooning In An Anxious Age (pdf) is a free comic by Cara Bean on the act of drawing, which focuses your attention and intimately connects you with the generative act of creation. It’s an inspiring read.
Created for middle and high school students, Let’s Talk About It: A Graphic Guide To Mental Health is a lively and educational comic book that destigmatizes the conversation around mental health.
Using the power of comics to teach teens about the way our government works This Is What Democracy Looks Like, A Graphic Guide To Governance is a 32-page comic book created by The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS). This short comic guide helps to bring democracy back to the hands of the people by explaining what democracy actually means and how the whole thing works. This guide will be a great jumping-off point to learn about our government.
Download a free copy of The World is Made of Cheese, The Applied Cartooning Manifesto.
© The Center for Cartoon Studies
PO BOX 125, White River Junction, Vermont 05001
info@cartoonstudies.org
802.295.3319
