The School of Comics: All About Graphic Novels, Comic Books and Manga

Friday, November 14, 10-4 p.m.

Educational sessions for teachers, librarians, parents and others who want to learn more about the format. Facilitated by librarians and professors, experts in the field.

This program is part of the Comix Galaxy of Miami Book Fair International, Wolfson Campus, Downtown Miami

Free and open to the public.

Registration has closed for these sessions.

Presented by Miami Book Fair International and Diamond Book Distributors

All sessions will take place at Miami Dade College, 300 NE Second Avenue, Room 7128 (Bldg. 7, First Floor), Downtown Miami. Please see the map below. Parking is FREE in the same building. Please bring this confirmation with you. Please visit the book fair website for driving directions. 

For more information, please e-mail lissette.mendez@mdc.edu or call 305.237.3940.

10 – 10:50 a.m.
Welcome Session: Panel Discussion with Arlene Allen, Robin Brenner, Adam Johnson, Francoise Mouly and David Serchay

Graphic novels have become a rapidly growing, influential force in the publishing world and entertainment industry.  Witness the explosion of graphic novel and comics related blockbuster movies and television shows, such as Heroes on NBC. The success of graphic novels began in a place where it was least expected: the library. Facilitators will discuss what led us to this point and what can be done to capitalize on this new form of literacy. 

FRANCOISE MOULY was born in Paris. She studied architecture at Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts, and moved to New York in 1974. In 1977 she founded Raw Books & Graphics and for fifteen years published artists’ monographs and the annual “Streets of Soho and Tribeca Map & Guide.” She was the founder, publisher, designer, and co-editor along with her husband, cartoonist Art Spiegelman, of the comics anthology “RAW.”  Ms. Mouly edited and designed books for Pantheon and Penguin Books. She joined The New  Yorker as art editor in April 1983 and has lectured and written extensively about New Yorker covers throughout history. In 2000, Ms. Mouly launched RAW Junior and LITTLE LIT, publishing books of comics for kids by star writers, children’s books artists and cartoonists. Her latest endeavor, TOON Books, has introduced her own imprint of hardcover comics for emerging readers. In 2001, she was named chevalier in the order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.

Other panelists biographical information can be found below their individual sessions.

11-11:50 a.m.
Graphic Novels: Introducing an Exciting Format that Draws New Readers! Facilitated by Librarian David Serchay

Graphic novels have an increased presence in libraries, and while not all titles are suitable for all ages, more and more titles are being created for younger readers. They are even being used in classroom activities and reading lists. Still, many librarians, educators and parents are unsure of how to deal with this popular format.

David Serchay discusses what sort of graphic novels are available, and how to discern age-appropriateness. Why librarians and educators should have them in their library (or collection), how to purchase, catalogue and shelve them, how to publicize the collection, and how to make use of it in the library, media center or classroom.

DAVID SERCHAY is a youth services librarian for the Broward County Library System in South Florida where he is on the graphic novel selection committee. He has been reading comic books all of his life and has a personal collection of over 25,000 comics and graphic novels. He is the author of The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens and the upcoming companion volume The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Adults. He has previously written about the subject in a chapter for Thinking Outside the Book, and for Library Journal; Serials Review; Florida Living; Animato!; and Comics Source. He has also lectured extensively on the subject.

11:50-12-50
Lunch: Miami Book Fair’s Street Fair is in full swing! Head over to the
food court for lunch, then browse the booths selling comics, graphic novels, and millions of other books.

1-1:50
Welcome to Manga! What is this stuff from Japan?
Facilitated by Librarian Arlene Allen

If manga are nothing more than Japanese comics, why is it that kids love it so much?  How should librarians and educators select manga and create manga reading clubs?  Is there a difference between manga and anime? Adding manga and graphic novels to a collection can deliver circulation numbers and bring in an entirely new and different reading population.  This entry-level session will be a gateway into the world of manga for librarians, educators and the general public.

ARLENE ALLEN is a Teen Services Librarian with Broward County Library in South Florida, where she serves on the graphic novel selection committee. She has hosted two mini anime conventions at the Main Library, drawing crowds of close to 1,000. She fell in love with animes Kimba and Prince Planet at an early age, and discovered graphic novels in the 1980s with Elfquest, which showed her that comics could be a girl thing, too.

2-2:50
A Deeper Look At Manga: The World of the Otaku
Facilitated by Librarian Robin Brenner
Robin Brenner’s appearance courtesy of Bookreporter.com and TeenReads.com.

Due to its origins in Japanese culture, manga carries with it an entire world of iconography and meaning.  Beyond the characters--Pokemon, Naruto, Sailor Moon and Fruitsbasket, there are themes and languages that are part of each genre within the manga format that continue to delight, entertain and even educate a generation of new readers.  What is Shojo, Yaoi, Shonen, or Josei? This session will reveal the deeper, hidden meanings in the language of the Otaku, or fan of manga.

ROBIN E. BRENNER is the Teen Librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts. She is the author of Understanding Manga and Anime and created and leads a successful Japanese manga and anime club for teens. She is a member of the ALA/YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection List Committee, a list she was chosen to help establish; and she co-authored the RUSA graphic novel reviewing guidelines and the "Getting Graphic at Your Library" workshop guidelines. In addition, she reviews manga for Booklist, reviews Japanese anime for Video Librarian; and she regularly speaks and conducts workshops on graphic novels, manga, and anime. She also hosts a Web site on graphic novels, www.noflyingnotights.com, and two sister sites, Sidekicks, for children through age 12; and the Lair, for adults.

3-3:50 p.m.
Comics and Writing: Shake Girl, The Stanford University Graphic Novel Project
Facilitated by Professor Adam Johnson

Professor Adam Johnson created a unique project for Stanford University's Creative Writing Department combining comics creation and creative writing. In just ten short weeks, his students created a phenomenal story based on true events that took place in Cambodia--the graphic novel, Shake Girl. During the course of the program, the students studied the craft of story telling via this exciting medium, and collaborated to write and publish their own book. Johnson will discuss the development of this program and what it can mean to writing programs of all levels.

A former Stegner Fellow, Jones Lecturer and Marsh McCall Lecturer, Adam Johnson is currently the Draper Lecturer in Creative Non-Fiction. He teaches fiction and poetry technique, non-fiction workshops, new media writing, as well as seminars on the novel. He is the author of Emporium, a short story collection, and the novel Parasites Like Us, which won a California Book Award. His work has appeared in Esquire, Harper's and the Paris Review, as well as many journals, textbooks and anthologies.

We encourage you to attend all sessions, but it is not required.