A2CAF: Small + Indie Press will take place on October 7, 2023.
Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival (A2CAF): Small + Indie Press is a one day venture into the world of small press comics publishing. This event offers attendees the chance to meet comic artists and learn about the art of creating comics outside of a traditional publisher. Due to the content of many independently published books, this event is intended for a teen and adult audience. A2CAF: Small + Indie Press is created in partnership with Athenaeum Comic Art.
Our friends at Vault of Midnight will be at A2CAF Small + Indie Press selling books by all our headliners for signings.
Applications for the show are closed.
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A2CAF: Small + Indie Press 2023 Features:
Jaime Hernandez
Jaime Hernandez is the award-winning co-creator of the alternative comic book Love and Rockets with his brothers Gilbert and Mario. Love and Rockets has been published since the early 80s, featuring a wide and disparate cast of characters, many with their own storylines. Punk rockers, wrestlers, superheroes, spies, and a serial murderer, in addition to regular folks dealing with life and love, populate the landscape of this influential and long-running epic.
Author Spotlight: Jaime Hernandez
12:15 - 1:15 PM
Join Special Guest Jaime Hernandez, co-creator of the widely acclaimed and award-winning Love and Rockets, in conversation with MSU Professor and comics scholar Julian Chambliss. A Q&A period will follow.
Jillian Tamaki
Jillian Tamaki is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator. She is the author of the Eisner Award-winning graphic novels SuperMutant Magic Academy and Boundless, and the author-illustrator of two picture books, including most recently Our Little Kitchen. With her cousin Mariko Tamaki, she is the co-creator of the young adult graphic novels SKIM and This One Summer, which won a Governor General’s Award and Caldecott Honor.
Author Spotlight: Jillian Tamaki
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Special Guest Jillian Tamaki, cartoonist of Boundless, SKIM, SuperMutant Magic Academy, and This One Summer, will give a short presentation on her new book Roaming. A moderated discussion with NPR graphic novel reviewer Etelka Lehoczky will follow.
Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
Rosemary Valero-O’Connell is a cartoonist and illustrator with a BFA in Comic Art from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She is the artist of award-winning Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, has worked on Lumberjanes and the movie Across the Spiderverse, and most recently, wrote and illustrated the bilingual English-Spanish chapbook Golden Record and contributed to the anthology Datura.
Author Spotlight: Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
1:30 - 2:30 PM
Special Guest Rosemary Valero-O'Connell, illustrator of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me and author/illustrator of Don't Go Without Me, will discuss her experience as a full-time illustrator and offer some advice for aspiring artists. NPR graphic novel reviewer Etelka Lehoczky will moderate the discussion.
Full Schedule
11:00 AM - 5:00 PM: Lobby open with exhibitors
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Author Spotlight: Jillian Tamaki
12:15 - 1:15 PM: Author Spotlight: Jaime Hernandez
12:15 - 1:15 PM: Signing with Jillian Tamaki
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Author Spotlight: Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
1:30 - 2:30 PM: Signing with Jaime Hernandez
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Signing with Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
2:45 - 3:45 PM: Level Up Your Audience: Working with Small Publishers
4:00 - 5:00 PM: Queer Comic Creators Panel
