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An Evening with Jonathan Cape Graphic Novels

An evening celebrating graphic novels published by Jonathan Cape featuring Simone Lia, Karrie Fransman, Katie Green, Bryan and Mary Talbot, Joff Winterhart, Hannah Berry, Alison Bechdel, Ravi Thornton, Andy Hixon and Othon.

6pm – 6.45pm Questioning Comics
What are the limits of graphic novels? Can comics show what you can’t tell? And how far can we really experiment with sequential art? Graphic Novelists Simone Lia, Karrie Fransman and Katie Green discuss the questions that have shaped their work, and invite you to debate the big questions facing the comic medium today.

6.45pm – 7pm Break / Signing

7pm -7.45pm
Bryan and Mary Talbot Bryan and Mary Talbot will be discussing their first graphic novel collaboration, Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes. Part personal history, part biography, the book contrasts two coming-of-age narratives: that of Lucia, the daughter of James Joyce, and that of author Mary Talbot, daughter of the eminent Joycean scholar James S. Atherton. Joe Sacco described it as ‘one of the best collaborative efforts I’ve seen in the comics medium.’

7.45pm – 8pm Live Drawing with Joff Winterhart and Hannah Berry

8pm – 8.15pm Break / Signing

8.15pm – 9pm Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, her remarkable graphic memoir about her father, established itself immediately as a classic of the genre and was a New York Times bestseller. She will be discussing her new graphic memoir Are You My Mother?: a poignant, hilarious quest for answers concerning her enigmatic mother.

9pm – 9.15pm Break / Signing

9.15pm – 9.45pm The Tale of Brin & Bent and Minno Marylebone
A reading of The Tale of Brin & Bent and Minno Marylebone by author Ravi Thornton, with projected artwork by illustrator Andy Hixon, and musical score by Othon performed live throughout.

9.30pm – 9:45pm Signings

Biographies
Simone Lia is the author and artist of Fluffy and Please God, Find me a Husband! Clients include The Tate Britain, the Guardian and The Phoenix. Simone is currently working on an extensive series of Worm paintings.
www.simonelia.com

Katie Green is an illustrator based in Bristol. Her first graphic novel, Lighter Than My Shadow, will be published by Jonathan Cape in 2013.
www.katiegreen.co.uk

Karrie Fransman has created comics for the Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph and Psychologies Magazine and published a graphic novel The House That Groaned with Random House’s Square Peg. You can see her comic stories, articles, strips and sculptures at www.karriefransman.com

Bryan Talbot has worked on underground comics, science fiction and superhero stories such as Judge Dredd and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Vertigo titles include Hellblazer, Sandman and Fables and has written and drawn several Eisner Award-winning graphic novels. In 2009 he was awarded a Doctorate in Arts. He is currently drawing Grandville Bete Noir, the third volume in his series of steampunk detective thrillers.
www.bryan-talbot.com

Mary Talbot is an internationally acclaimed scholar who has published widely on language, gender and power. Her recent books include Language and Gender and Media Discourse: Representation and Interaction. Dr Talbot has worked in higher education for over 25 years and Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes is the first work she has undertaken in the graphic novel format. She is currently scripting a historical graphic novel.

Joff Winterhart has been described by the Observer as a ‘Superstar in the making’ and his graphic novel debut Days of the Bagnold Summer has been compared to Posy Simmonds and Raymond Briggs and shows him to be a comics author of tremendous talent. A runner-up in the Cape/ Observer/ Comica Graphic Short Story Prize 2009, he is also an illustrator, film-maker and drummer in his band, Bucky. Joff lives in Bristol, where he walks his greyhound, Peep-Peep. Joff will also draw the evening’s events for capegraphicnovels.tumblr.com

Hannah Berry is a graduate of the illustration course at Brighton University. Her first book, Britten & Brulightly, was highly praised and an Official Selection at Angoulême in 2010. Her latest book is Adamtine and is currently online writer in residence for the Book Trust. Find out more at the Book Trust website.

For 25 years Alison Bechdel wrote and drew the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life – queer and otherwise. She has drawn comics for Slate, McSweeney’s, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and the New York Times Book Review.
dykestowatchoutfor.com

Ravi Thornton lives in Manchester with the Elegant Hound. She writes graphic novels/short stories, interactive/pervasive game scripts and texts unusual in structure. She loves to collaborate with artists, always interested in pushing the boundaries of immersive storytelling.
ravithornton.com

Othon Mataragas is a non-conformist composer/songwriter, an eccentric pianist and a music producer. He has collaborated with writers, live artists, film directors and pop stars from different countries. He has two albums under his name, the second of which features performances by Marc Almond, Camile O’Sullivan and Ernesto Tomasini.
www.othonmataragas.com

Andy Hixon lives in Sheffield in a small flat with his better half. From this hub he spends his days creating graphic novels and delving into the world of mixed media in all shapes and forms and swearing at the TV.