January 20, 2010

Event date: –

For Immediate Release

Announcing the arrival of a graphic novel celebrating an American icon

White River Junction, Vermont – Seventy-five years ago, Amelia Earhart visited Vermont for the first time, her plane touching down at the airport just minutes from where The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) campus now resides. Earhart is returning to White River Junction, this time as the star of the fourth of a five book graphic novel series by CCS featuring the lives of remarkable Americans.

Drawing by Ben Towle

Novelist Sarah Stewart Taylor and cartoonist Ben Towle will launch Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean at The Center for Cartoon Studies, 94 South Main Street, White River Junction, Vermont on Friday, February 19, 4pm. The creative team will discuss the life of Amelia Earhart and the process of producing a graphic novel. Original sketches and drawings will be on display. All ages are welcome. A book signing will follow.

In Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean, Taylor and Towle focus on Earhart’s triumphant crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, offering a glimpse at her relentless ambition and tireless will to promote women’s rights. But above all, author and illustrator leave us with a sense of her deep-rooted desire to touch the sky.

“All of CCS’s graphic novels are well researched and beautifully produced, but most importantly they get kids immersed in history by telling exciting stories” says CCS director James Sturm. “Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean is an important and inspiring chapter of Amelia’s storied life.”

Sarah Stewart Taylor was born in 1971 and was educated at Middlebury College and Trinity College, Dublin. Her first novel, O’ Artful Death (2003) was nominated for an Agatha Award. In addition to writing mystery novels, she teaches at The Center for Cartoon Studies. She lives with her husband, Matt Dunne, and their two sons in Hartland, Vermont.

Ben Towle had an early interest in comics as a kid, but it wasn’t till after he studied philosophy, joined a rock band and toured the South, before he committed himself to comics. He made his debut with Farewell, Georgia (2003) and the graphic novel Midnight Sun (2007). Ben Towle now lives and works in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Published by Hyperion/Disney Book Group, CCS’s award-winning line of graphic novels are celebrated by librarians, educators, and young readers and have featured Houdini, Satchel Paige, and Thoreau.

For more information, visit: cartoonstudies.org

The Center For Cartoon Studies is America’s premiere cartooning school and studio, located in the historic village of White River Junction, Vermont. Faculty and visiting artists include many of today’s most celebrated cartoonists. CCS has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, LA Times, and The Washington Post. CCS is a driving force behind the recent revitalization of White River Junction, bringing jobs, students, and art to the village.

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