Stories tagged ALA

Black Lives Matter Comics Reading List

American Library Association has compiled a lengthy reading list of graphic novels that draws attention to the Black experiences of the past and present. Supporting the Black Caucus of the American Library Association as well as the Black community at large, they created this list of books to demand a new future for our Black friends and neighbors.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


New Kid by Jerry Craft is the First Graphic Novel to Win ALA Newbery Medal

Jerry Craft—a past CCS visiting artist—became the first cartoonist to win the Newbery Award from the American Library Association (ALA) with New Kid (Harper Collins). This incredible news recognizes the literary merits of graphic novels. The Newbery Medal (named for 18th-century British bookseller John Newbery) is awarded annually by ALA to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

New Kid is a powerful and important story and the Newbery Award is an incredible recognition for the medium. Congratulations to Jerry Craft.

—M. Ollie, CCS President

New Kid is about Jordan, a 12-year-old boy living in New York City and dreaming of art school. But his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school where he is one of the few students of color.

Tags: , , , , ,


State of the Union: Comics

COMICS HAVE ARRIVED:  (l. to r.)  Jaime Hernandez, Amie Wright (moderator), CCS faculty Jason Lutes, Raina Telgemeier Photo by Annalisa Pešek

The Center for Cartoon Studies instructor Jason Lutes (Berlin) was part of a panel discussing the state of comics at the American Library Association (ALA) conference in June. Along with Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets) and Raina Telgemeier (The Baby-Sitters Club), the panel was moderated by Amie Wright. They discussed their relationships to their characters, the rise of graphic memoir and biography, using comics to promote literacy, and shelving graphic novels separately or with the rest of the collection. Though there was disagreement among the panel, Jason sees shelving graphic novels in the general collection as a step in the right direction.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


Jason Faculty Lutes at ALA’s Presidential Roundtable

Jason Lutes (The Center for Cartoon Studies faculty)

Jason Lutes (Berlin) will be at the 2019 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., talking about the state of comics. He is joining a panel with Raina Telgemeier (Smile) and Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets), moderated by Amie Wright from the New York Public Library, as part of the newly established Graphic Novels & Comics Roundtable in their first President’s program. The three long-working cartoonists will discuss how they have seen comics change in the last twenty years.

The ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition is from June 20 to 25 and includes a wide variety of programming, including discussion panels, awards, and author events. Jason’s event is Sunday, June 23, from 1pm–2:30pm.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


As The Crow Flies is on ALA-curated list of recommended feminist lit for young readers

Congratulations to Melanie Gillman ′13 yet again! The first volume of As the Crow Flies (Iron Circus, 2017) appears on the 2019 Amelia Bloomer list for Young Adult Fiction. The Amelia Bloomer list is an ALA-curated list of recommended feminist lit for young readers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , ,


Nationwide boost to graphic novels and comics

Libraries nationwide might soon carry more comics and graphic novels, thanks to a move by The American Library Association (ALA). The ALA, which promotes libraries and library education around the globe, with over 45,000 members, has reorganized their Graphic Novel and Comics Member Initiative Group into the Graphic Novel Round Table. This new round table is the first approved ALA designated focus area in five years. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


3 CCS Top ALA YA Graphic Novel List!

The American Association of Librarians has posted a list of the 2018 top ten graphic novels for youth in Booklist Online. Three from The Center for Cartoon Studies made the list!

As The Crow Flies

Melanie Gillman ′13 already won the Stonewall Award from ALA for As the Crow Flies Vol. 1 (Iron Circus Comics), so it comes as no surprise that this comic is also in the top ten YA graphic novels. From the ALA post:

Lush, warm colored-pencil artwork relates the story of 13-year-old Charlie, a queer black girl who struggles with her faith—as well as outdated concepts and whitewashed history—on an all-girls hiking trip.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Alum Spotlight: Melanie Gillman’s ALA Stonewall Award

Melanie Gillman with their Stonewall Book Award

The first volume of Melanie Gillman’s As the Crow Flies (Iron Circus) recently won the Stonewall Book Award from the American Library Association (ALA). The comic, originally published online where it is still updating, is about Charlie Lamonte, a thirtee-year-old, queer, black girl spending a week of summer vacation at an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp where they learn to question the rhetoric. Melanie ′12 gave a speech at the ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition upon receiving the award in New Orleans. You can view their heartfelt speech on Twitter. They discuss how important comics in particular are in sharing experiences:

Drawings are still, even in our advanced stage of technology, the most direct way that we have as human beings to be able to see visually through another human being’s eyes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , ,


ALUM MELANIE GILLMAN’S “AS THE CROW FLIES” RECEIVES ALA STONEWALL HONOR

Starred reviews, awards, and accolades for As the Crow Flies

The first print volume of As the Crow Flies, by Melanie Gillman ’12, was released by Iron Circus Comics in November 2017. Since it’s release, it has received three starred reviews and numerous awards and reviews! The comic, originally published online where it is still updating, is about Charlie Lamonte, a thirtee-year-old, queer, black girl spending a week of summer vacation at an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp where she learns to question the rhetoric. This volume is 250 pages and $30. They started posting the web comic in January, 2012.

Stonewall Honor named “As the Crow Flies,” written and illustrated by The Center for Cartoon Studies alum Melanie Gillman ′12 and published by Iron Circus Comics. Congratulations to Melanie and Iron Circus!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,


Vermont Teens: Win A Scholarship Create Comics Workshop!

 CCSLogo

For the eighth year in a row, The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) has donated a full scholarship to the Vermont Department of Libraries so a Vermont teen can attend the Create Comics summer workshop camp.

Create Comics is a ‘boot camp’ for cartoonists. The 5-day workshop packs in the essentials for producing your own comics. Through lectures, exercises, and group projects, students learn about story structure, page composition, pacing, materials and techniques, character design, drawing, environmental drawing, and production. Students collaborate on a comic anthology that they self-publish during the workshop. Create Comics is for both beginner and advanced students age 16 and over.

Any Vermont student age 16 or older is eligible. This year the workshop will take place in White River Junction, Vermont, June 20-24 or July 11-15, 2016.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , ,