(Chelsea Update would like to thank Edith Donnell for the information in this story.)
The annual Kids Read Comics Festival returns to Ann Arbor on June 20-21 with a packed schedule of kid- and teen-oriented activities stressing hands-on creativity, and with over 40 comics creators selling their work and sharing their passion for writing and drawing in an Artists Alley that will take over the ground floor of the downtown Ann Arbor District Library.
The free weekend event will kick off with a presentation by cartoonists Kean Soo (Jellaby) and Tory Woollcott (Mirror Mind) on Saturday morning. Other guests include New York Times bestseller Raina Telgemeier (Sisters, Smile), John Martin (Vordak the Incomprehensible series), Faith Erin Hicks (Adventures of Superhero Girl, Bigfoot Boy), Rafael Rosado (Giants Beware!), Ruth McNally Barshaw (Ellie McDoodle Diaries), Chris Giarrusso (The G-Man Super Journal), and Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy, Teen Boat). Young local artists will also be on hand to showcase their work.
Programming will take place at the library and additional venues nearby — The Vault of Midnight comic book shop, Ann Arbor Art Center, and Robot Supply and Repair. Workshop sessions will be geared for both beginning artists and those looking to develop more advanced skills, and fast-paced interactive drawing games will be featured throughout the weekend.
Comics from major publishers will be given away to attendees during Artists Alley hours.
The nonprofit Kids Read Comics was organized to highlight comics’ unique blend of words and pictures, and to foster fun, imagination, creativity, and a lifelong love of reading. “Comics open up new worlds for readers,” said KRC co-founder Dan Mishkin, who is also a longtime comic book writer, “and they can even change lives. Our goal is to make them a part of as many young lives as we can.”
The Kids Read Comics Festival got its start at the Chelsea District Library, where another co-founder, Edith Donnell, works as a youth and teen librarian and had long dreamed of combining the excitement of a comic book convention with the library’s mission in the community.
As part of its goal to make comics more visible, Kids Read Comics puts on a Friday pre-conference for educators and librarians, and sponsors two comics awards. The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids’ Comics, honoring a single outstanding work that embodies excellence, originality and timelessness, will be announced as part of the Saturday morning kickoff event. The reader-voted Kids Comics Revolution.
Awards will be presented in a lively Sunday afternoon ceremony, and festival attendees will have the chance to cast their ballots during show hours on Saturday.
Additional information and a full schedule of events are available here.
