FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 27, 2023

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VERMONT–The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) will hold its 17th commencement ceremony on Saturday May 6, 2023. This year’s commencement speaker is Lee Lai, an Asian-Australian award-winning cartoonist living in Montreal.

Lee Lai is an Australian cartoonist living in Tio’tia:ke (known as Montreal, Quebec). She has made comics for The New Yorker, McSweeneys and The New York Times. Her graphic novel Stone Fruit was released in 2021 with Fantagraphics, Sarbacane, Coconino and other publishers.  

Lee Lai was the 2022 Cartoonist Studio Prize winner, the 2022 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize winner, 2022 American Library Association (ALA) Stonewall Award Honor Book, 2022 Lambda Literary Award Finalist, LGBTQ Comics, and the 2021 National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” Honoree, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics, among other awards.

The Center for Cartoon Studies’ 17th commencement ceremony will be held Saturday, May 6, at 11am in Northern Stage’s The Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction. This event is open to the general public.*

A thesis exhibit featuring original work by the graduating class will be on exhibit throughout the month of May in the CCS Gallery in the Colodny Building located at 94 South Main Street, in White River Junction, Vermont, will be open Monday-Friday from noon-4pm. 

Lee Lai’s debut book, Stone Fruit, can be purchased from Fantagraphics: https://www.fantagraphics.com/collections/lee-lai/products/stone-fruit

You can find Lee Lai on Instagram @_leelai  

*Special note: Masks are required to attend this event and will be made available.

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES (CCS)

The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is America’s premier cartooning school and studio located in the historic village of White River Junction, Vermont. CCS programs include a two-year Master of Fine Arts Degree, one- and two-year certificates in cartooning, and workshops. Faculty and visiting artists include many of today’s most celebrated cartoonists. CCS has received national acclaim for its work and prominent mention in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and other publications. For more information about CCS, visit: cartoonstudies.org.

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Tags: Class of 2023, Commencement Speaker, Lee Lai, Stone Fruit