Graphic Novel TK

2020 and 2021 have been a very strange time in publishing -- a time when the way that publishing a book works has changed rapidly and in unexpected ways. At the start of 2020, the expectation was the year would proceed as usual -- and then only months later, as covid spread, authors and publishers scrambled to adjust plans as everything that would've been in-person shut down. In this interview, we talked to Shannon Wright about her experience with publishing a book during covid. Shannon's first graphic novel, Twins, came out in October 2020, and she and her publisher, Scholastic Graphix were changing and adjusting plans and processes as 2020 unfolded. Interested in finding out more about Shannon Wright? You can check out her website (https://shannon-wright.com/) and follow her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/shannondrewthis)

So your book has been published! It is now in out in the world for everyone to read. And now . . . what happens? Do people mostly come to find your book organically? How do you make sure people are still reading your book in a year . . . and what can you do to make sure that they're still reading your book in five years? We talk to Julia Pohl-Miranda, Director of Marketing at renowned Canadian comics publisher Drawn and Quarterly, about the long-term view on publishing graphic novels. Interested in learning more about Drawn and Quarterly and Julia Pohl-Miranda? You can check out D&Q's website ( https://drawnandquarterly.com ) or find them on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/DandQ ) (We note that we recorded this episode in 2019, so the discussion and advice here is sometimes not representative of the state of the world in 2020/2021. For more on that . . . more TK.)

Your publisher has called you to tell you that your book has a publication date! It's coming out! In the future! What . . . do you do in the meantime? You want everyone you know -- and also everyone you don't know -- to be the most excited and to buy your book when it appears in stores. How do you work with your publisher to make that happen? What does your publisher want you to do? What does your publisher want you NOT to do? Today we talk about all these questions with Jacq Cohen, the Executive Director of Marketing, Publicity, and Promotions at Fantagraphics (which basically means that her job is to work with authors to plan and execute the best strategy for getting people excited about their graphic novels). Interested in learning more about Jacq Cohen and Fantagraphics? You can find her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/jacq_cohen) and also Fantagraphics (https://www.fantagraphics.com). (We note that we recorded this episode in 2019, so the discussion and advice here is sometimes not representative of the state of the world in 2020/2021. For more on that . . . more TK.)

Publishers! If you've got one, they're involved in all the parts of making a book -- from negotiating a book deal to contracts, editing, design, marketing, publicity, sales, and all the bits where you work to get the book out to readers. How do you make sure that your relationship with your publisher goes well -- and that they're on the same page about what you want to happen with your book that you are? Today we talk to Dwayne McDuffie Award-winning comics creator Nilah Magruder about just that! Having done picture books, chapter book illustration, cover illustration, and graphic novels, Nilah brings her expertise from various publishers (and lots of different kinds of work) to the discussion. Interested in learning more about Nilah Magruder? You can find her on her website (http://www.nilahmagruder.com/) or on Twitter at @nilaffle (https://twitter.com/nilaffle).

Headlines! Radio segments! Feature pieces! Your comic might be in one of those spaces one day. But . . . how? Today we're talking to Petra Mayer, the editor at NPR Books, about consumer-facing media outlets. What do they do? How do you work with them? And how much are national media outlets interested in comics and graphic novels? For more about Petra, you can follow her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/petramatic) -- and NPR Books has a website (https://www.npr.org/books/) and a Twitter (https://twitter.com/nprbooks) also.

Conferences, conventions, and festivals! As a comics creator, should you go to them? What should you do there? What's the best way for you to work with all the very different public event spaces there are to promote and support your comics and your career? Today, we talk to the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Toronto Comics Art Festival, Christopher Butcher, about how conferences, conventions, and festivals work, and how best to plan to interact with them as an author. For more information about the Toronto Comics Art Festival, you can check them out on Twitter (https://twitter.com/torontocomics) or at their website (http://www.torontocomics.com). For more on Christopher Butcher, you can follow him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Comics212).

Social media! Authors are there, talking about themselves and their books, all the time. What goes into thinking about how to do that in a successful way and manageable way? That's what we explore in this episode of Graphic Novel TK. We're delighted to be discussing the ins and outs of having an online presence with Ngozi Ukazu, the author of webcomic sensation Check, Please! Want to learn more about Ngozi Ukazu? You can find her on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/ngoziu ) or on her website ( https://www.ngoziu.com/ )

We interrupt our regular arc of Graphic Novel TK posting to bring you a new feature: Graphic Novel TK Backmatter. Where Graphic Novel TK follows a book through its publication life from book deal to post-publication, Graphic Novel TK Backmatter focuses on specific topics in comics publishing. We'll be sporadically bringing you featured episodes on these special topics in the months to come. Some comics are short -- like mini-comics, contributions to anthologies, and some webcomics. And other comics are much, much, much longer -- like graphic novels. How does a cartoonist transition from doing shorter work to doing longer? What are the differences -- both on the creative side and on the process side? In this episode, we talk to comics creator Sarah Winifred Searle -- who has done a lot of work on both ends of the spectrum of comics length -- about her methods for creating comics and organizing herself while doing so. GN TK's 'Short Form to Long Form' episode is also our first-ever live episode! Thanks to TCAF for giving us the venue to host Sarah Winifred Searle for this conversation. You can find Sarah Winifred Searle on her website ( http://www.swinsea.com ), or on Twitter (http://twitter.com/swinsea)

On the last few episodes of Graphic Novel TK, we've been talking to booksellers, comic book sellers, teachers, and librarians about how they work with graphic novels in their spaces. But how do those industry professionals hear about graphic novels? How do they know what to buy, what to get excited about, or even what's coming soon? One of the first ways that an industry professional might hear about graphic novels is through a trade publication -- a publication that is specifically designed to reach the industry, rather than the public. Today we talk to Calvin Reid, the Senior News Editor of trade publication Publishers Weekly, about the ins and outs of trade media. For more about Calvin Reid, you can follow him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/calreid); or check out Publishers Weekly (https://www.publishersweekly.com) which has many enewsletters you can subscribe to, including a comics one.

Comics can help young kids learn! But what about after those kids go to college? How are comics used in an academic space? Today we're delighted to talk to Professor Margaret Galvan, from the University of Florida, to explore college courses, academic research, and how comics and graphic novels enter into and interact with students and teachers in these classrooms. Want to know more about Margaret Galvan? You can find more about her and her academic work on her website, including some fantastic comics network charts (http://margaretgalvan.org) or follow her on Twitter @Magdor.