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For Manissa Maharawal, the struggle for housing justice is personal. When her own father got displaced from his apartment in Prospect Heights—his home since moving from India to the States some thirty years before, in which he raised his family—she was struck by his unstoppable urge to tell the story over and over again.
The Oxford Philosophy team is excited to see you in San Francisco for the upcoming 2016 American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting. We have some suggestions on sights to see during your time in California as well as our favorite sessions for the conference. We recommend visiting the following sights and attractions while in San Francisco.
Book Scavenger Written by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman Illustrations by Sarah Watts Christy Ottaviano Books 6/02/2015 . . …978-1-62779-115-1 . . . .354 pages Age 8—12 Junior Library Guild Selection “Twelve-year-old Emily is on the move again. Her …
Another year, another successful ALA annual! We were so excited to be in San Francisco this year, especially in light of the recent SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage! What better city to be in than the one that elected Harvey Milk to public office and issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, kickstarting a fight for LGBTQ marriage rights in California?
We started off the conference with some great news: Foreword Reviews named us Indie Publisher of the Year 2014! We were thrilled and humbled by this honor. You can see what they said about us here.
We had a full signing schedule, including award-winning authors and illustrators, and a couple of debut authors. Another highlight was getting to meet many of our Children’s Book Press authors and illustrators who are based in California. We’ve often only emailed back and forth with them, so it was nice to finally meet in person!
Illustrator Floyd Cooper demonstrates how he creates his art.Authors G. Neri and Nikki Grimes – what a duo!Debut author and New Voices Award winner Jane BahkThe LEE & LOW team with Children’s Book Press authors and illustrators
We were also excited to see Frank Morrison honored at the Coretta Scott King breakfast for his illustrations in Little Melba and Her Big Trombone! He wrote a moving speech about breaking out of the mold, as Melba did:
I was dazzled by this six year old [Melba] hearing the rhythm and beats in her head. I believe this is true for all artists. First you have to have the love, then passion, next discipline, tenacity, and bravery. I truly believe this is what took Melba from performing on the steps with her grandfather in front of a dog at seven years old to performing in front of thousands on stages around the world. Let’s all encourage our youth to recognized their gifts and if they don’t fit the cookie cutter,
Break! The! Mold!
Other winners also gave contemplative, beautiful, and inspiring speeches (you can read Jacqueline Woodson’s here).
Publisher Jason Low participated in an Ignite Session with a presentation called “Diversity’s Action Plan,” a five minute talk packed with big ideas about how to create change in the publishing industry. If you missed it, you can watch all 5 minutes right here:
One key takeaway: we’re asking people to sign a petition for publishers to participate in our Diversity Baseline Survey, which will measure staff diversity in the publishing industry and give us a benchmark for improvement. If you haven’t signed yet, please take a minute to do so. We’ve now surpassed 1,500 signatures!
Publisher Jason Low at ALA’s Ignite Session
Valynne E. Maetani, debut author and winner of Tu Book‘s New Visions Award, was at the Pop Top stage to talk about her new YA mystery novel, Ink and Ashes. Afterwards, she signed books at our booth, and completely sold out!
Author Valynne E. Maetani
It was a lot of fun to meet everyone and enjoy San Francisco, and we’re looking forward to Orlando next year!
What were your ALA highlights? Let us know in the comments!
1 Comments on ALA 2015 Recap: Wins in Diversity, last added: 7/10/2015
I wish I could have met more Lee & Low authors and illustrators! Congratulations again on the award. I’m excited to work with you on the Diversity Baseline Survey!
I received this email from John Shableski, the recently hired Vice President of Sales at UDON Entertainment. In a bit of brilliance, instead of shipping their display titles back to Toronto, or dealing with the ravenous hordes hoping for free books, they’ll be GIVING AWAY every title at their booth to one lucky library!
Hey! If you’re heading to the ALA show in San Francisco you really should swing by booth #219 to throw your card in for the Udon GN Library prize! Sure we have cool and nifty promotional stuff and we will be having author and artist signings. Stacy King will be signing the Manga Classics books on Friday evening. Long Vo of Street Fighter fame will be doing two signing sessions on Saturday. We have posters, book marks and FREE KITTENS!
But even better than all of that is the BIG FREE BOOK PACKAGE that we will ship directly to your library!
Here’s the scoop:
Win The One Thousand Dollar Udon GN Library!
#ALAwinsatUDON
How does it work? Come to the Udon booth (#219) in the Graphic Novel Pavilion. Simply throw your business card into the bowl and we will draw the winning entry on Monday. We will ship the books directly from the show to the winning library!Please make sure your cell phone number is on the card.
What do I win? The prize includes a copy of every Udon book on display in our booth!
The total retail value is $1,053.45!
How do I know I’ve won? For some people you may actually feel a tingling sensation…kinda like Spider-Man or Obi Wan Kenobi. For others the news will come to you via text.On Monday at Noon we will draw the winning card and shoot a text to the winner. Once the winner is confirmed, we will then ship the books right from the exhibit hall to your library.
· All business cards must include a valid cell phone number.
· Only one entry allowed per attendee.
· Entries must represent a library.
Good Luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!
0 Comments on ALAAC15: Udon To Raffle Off Every Book In Their Booth on Monday! as of 6/27/2015 10:22:00 AM
Reproduced from the ALA website, here’s the schedule and descriptions for the panels being hosted on the Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage in the exhibits hall at the Ameican Library Association annual conference in San Francisco.
Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage
Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage
Here’s your chance to hear from authors, illustrators, and creators of the hottest games and graphic novels. Learn more about the art of graphic novels and illustration, how games and gaming inspire creativity and social engagement, and how comics in the library and in the classroom can help you inspire and reach reluctant readers. Supplement your Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage experiences with visits to the Graphic Novel & Gaming Pavilion, the Zine Pavilion, Gaming Lounge and Artist Alley, also on the Exhibit Floor.
Time:
Saturday, June 27
Sunday, June 28
Monday, June 29
9:00-10:00am
Paizo: Pathfinder Organized Play in Your Library
Chris Harris: Teaching Through Games: A
Play-Based Approach to Learning in Libraries of All Types
Joshua Hale Fialkov: The Bunker
10:00-11:00am
Mark Siegel – The History and Growth of First Second Books
Christos Gage-Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Celebrating 10 Years of Graphix!
11:00-12:00pm
Academy Games
Robotics: How Robots Interact with People
Lark Pien & Jenni Holm: Wearing Many Hats-The Roles We Play in Telling Stories
12:00-1:00pm
Derf Backderf
CBLDF:Protecting Comics: Authors & Experts on Fighting Graphic Novel Challenges
Nick Dragotta & Dr. Saul Griffith
1:00-2:00pm
Zine and Not Heard!
DC Entertainment-Inside the Page: Bat-Universe
2:00-3:00pm
Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries Announcement:The Art of Graphic Novel Selection and Acquisition and the Presentation of the 2015 ALA Grants
Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen: Using Musical Activities to Build Early Literacy Skills
3:00-4:00pm
Award Winning Authors: Their Books, Process and the Future
Historical Fiction Graphic Novels Panel
4:00-5:00pm
Daniel Corey: “Moriarty” The Experience of Creating, the Image, and Self Branding
Pierce Watters: Pathfinder Organized Play in Your Library
Paizo, Inc. has the world’s largest roleplaying organized play network in the world. As times change, libraries are looking for alternatives to bring in visitors. Young people are reading less and playing games more. The Pathfinder roleplaying game not only encourages kids to read, it fostered cooperative play, goal setting, and goal evaluation. More and more libraries are running the Pathfinder roleplaying game, attracting a younger audience, and exploring new ways to educate and enlighten. Learn more about the Pathfinder gaming
network.
Sponsored by Paizo
Mark Siegel: The History and Growth of First Second Books
Editorial Director and Founder of First Second Books, Mark is the publisher of several award-winning, best-selling, high-quality graphic novels. He will discuss the history of First Second and, with the help of librarians, its growth over the years.
Sponsored by First Second Books
Academy Games
Uwe Eickert, representing the Academy will discuss “What makes a game an effective learning tool?”. Well designed games engage youth in a decision making process with anticipation and resolution cycles hooking them into wanting to play and explore the game’s subject matter in greater depth.
Derf Backderf: Trashed
Backderf is the author of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning, national-bestseller “My Friend Dahmer”. He will be representing his new novel “Trashed”, an inside look at the job of a garbage collector.
Sponsored by Abrams ComicArts
Matthew Murray, Alex Wrekk, and Jonas Cannon: Zine and Not Heard!
Some people think that zinesters should be seen and not heard, but we think differently! Come and listen to some zinesters from the Zine Pavilion read from their own work. Emceed by the editor of the zine Two Fisted Librarians, Matthew Murray will join zinesters such as Alex Wrekk, Jonas Cannon, and more to showcase stories of romance, adventure, hilarious occurrences, and who knows what else! If you can’t make it to the reading, make sure you come by the Zine Pavilion where there will be zine creators all weekend long!
Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries Announcement: The Art of Graphic Novel Selection and Acquisition and the Presentation of the 2015 ALA Grants
An educational panel about how you determine which kinds of graphic novels and comics to purchase for your library. How do reader demographics impact collection development? Who is reading graphic novels and comics in the library? How does the advent of digital graphic novels and comics impact book selection and does the popularity of a digital books translate into the purchase of hard copies? These and other questions will be explored by Jack Baur from the Berkeley Public Library, Katie Monnin, PhD from the University of North Florida, Caitlin McGurk from the Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and moderated by John Shableski.
The panel will be preceded by the presentation of the 2015 ALA Will Eisner Graphic Novel Innovation Grant and Growth Grant. Learn how your library can apply for next year’s grants.
Cece Bell, Mariko Tamaki, and Jillian Tamaki: Award Winning Authors: Their Books, Process, and the Future
Cece Bell, Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki as Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz honor-winning authors discuss these topics and the importance of graphic novels being recognized.
Sponsored by First Second Books
Daniel Corey: “Moriarty”
Working with Image Comics, the #1 independent comics publisher in the U.S. market, he will discuss his series’ to date and history managing brand identity. In today’s publishing market this content is essential.
Chris Harris: Teaching Through Games: A Play Based Approach to Learning In Libraries of All Types
Christopher Harris, gaming and learning expert and author of the Teaching Through Games (2015) series of professional books from Rosen Publishing, will share great tabletop games for starting a play-based learning program in your library. Support classroom instruction with curriculum-aligned games, deliver engaging public library game programs, and meet the learning needs of home school groups with these incredible board and card games for all ages. Take a break from the show and sit down for some interactive game play!
Christos Gage: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
A veteran TV and comic book writer, this New York Times best-selling writer of both Buffy and Angel & Faith, discusses the challenges and rewards of adapting properties into comic form. He also manages this while staying true to the characters and still allowing them to change and grow.
Sponsored by Dark Horse Comics
Westport Libraries Robotics: How Robotics Interact with People
Westport Library has developed programming for two Alderbaran NAO robots. Interest has been overwhelming with over 500 people trained in using the software. The session will demonstrate how the robots interact with people and how to program them.
Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki, Gene Luen Yang, Eva Volin, Charles Brownstein and Maren Williams: Protecting Comics: Authors & Experts On Fighting Graphic Novel Challenges
Comics and graphic novels are achieving more acclaim than ever, which is leading to an increase in demand as well as challenges. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund brings together perspectives on graphic novel censorship from authors Jillian and Mariko Tamaki and Gene Luen Yang, alongside expert observations from Eva Volin, Supervising Children’s Librarian for the Alameda Free Library in California, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein, and more in a panel moderated by CBLDF Contributing Editor and reference librarian Maren Williams.
Mark Doyle, Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Tim Seely, Cameron Stewart and Tom King: DC Entertainment: Inside the Page: Bat-Universe
Join Batman Group Editor Mark Doyle with Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Tim Seely, Cameron Stewart and Tom King as they take you behind the scenes to the streets of Gotham for an exclusive look at how the Bat-Universe works.
Sponsored by DC Entertainment
Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen: Using Musical Activities to Build Early Literacy Skills
Join in hands-on activities from the Mother Goose on the Loose early literacy program, presented by its creator, Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen. Experience interactive ways to play with bells and colored scarves that build school readiness skills at the same time as having fun. See how parents can talk, sing, read, write and play using the free Felt Board- Mother Goose on the Loose
app.
Chris Schweizer, Gene Luen Yang, Tony Cliff, and Nathan Hale: Historical Fiction Graphic Novel Panel
The session features some of the genre’s most acclaimed storytellers including Chris Schweizer, Gene Luen Yang, Tony Cliff and Nathan Hale. They discuss the making of graphic novels taking place in specific historical eras, the creative and logistical challenges that those books present to the authors who write and draw them, and how those books can be used to give readers a greater understanding of history and the cultures depicted.
Joshua Hale Fialkov: The Bunker
As a Harvey, Eisner, and Emmy Award nominated writer of graphic novels, animation, video games, film and television, some of his works include “Elk’s Run”, “The Life After”, and “Afro Samurai”. He will focus this discussion on “The Bunker”, and though they’ve been warned against making the wrong choices…How do they know what the right ones are?
Sponsored by Oni Press
Raina Telegemeier, Dave Roman, Jenni Holm and Craig Thompson: Celebrating 10 Years of Graphix!
Graphic novel creators Jennifer Holm (Sunny Side Up), Craig Thompson (Space Dumplins), Raina Telegemeier (Smile, Sisters, Baby-sitters Club Graphix) and Dave Roman (Goosebumps Graphix) will take the stage to discuss their books, their art, and the 10th anniversary of the Scholastic Graphix imprint.
Sponsored by Scholastic
Lark Pien and Jenni Holm: Wearing Many Hats-The Roles We Play in Telling Stories
How is making a picture book different from making a graphic novel? And how is making a graphic novel different from making a young adult novel? Join Lark Pien and Jenni Holm in the discussion on authorship, audiences, and exploration of genres and formats in storytelling.
Nick Dragotta and Dr. Saul Griffith: Howtoons
HOWTOONS uses comics to show kids how to make projects that teach essential STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) concepts, all through play! Join creators Dr. Saul Griffith and artist Nick Dragotta as they talk about their experiences of using comics in the library and learn more about the award-winning book that teaches kids how to make things using everyday household goods, like origami robots, marshmallow shooters, stomp rockets, zoetropes, and more. Where science and art go hand-in-hand!
Sponsored by Image Comics
0 Comments on ALAAC15: All The Programming on the Graphic Novel/Gaming Stage as of 1/1/1900
WOW! San Francisco is one of the epicenters of comics culture in the U. S., and the American Library Association is tapping into that local energy with an amazing variety of panels, workshops, and celebrations!
Then there’s the Graphic Novel/Gaming stage, right next to Artists Alley, right there on the exhibits floor! Yes! Your favorite illustrators and cartoonists will be attending! (I’ll have another post showcasing all of those amazing people! For sheer quality, it really is one of the best comics shows in the country!)
Another important event is the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries Announcement at 2 PM on Saturday. The Eisner Foundation awards two grants: one to a library just starting to develop a graphic novel collection; one to an established library to better develop the collection and community outreach. There will be a hotel reception later that evening. (Bar-Con!)
What’s not on this list are the various award functions. Each year, the American Library Association announces their Youth Media Awards at the mid-winter conference in January. This year, there were numerous graphic novel winners! Newbery, Caldecott, Batchelder… Those are quite popular events, and require separate tickets.
Click on the links below to go to the event page, or for information about where the event is located. ALA conferences host a lot of meetings and events, and like San Diego, you might need to walk a few blocks to another hotel! If it’s on Sunday, during the Pride Parade, well… add extra time.
Yeah, I expect great authors to show up at every American Library Association conference (some to accept awards), but this… WOW! And this is just Artists Alley! Lord know what the various publishers have planned at their booths!
Alex Woolfson – Artist Alley Alex Woolfson creates gay male action-romance comics for women and other cool folk. He will be bringing copies of his science-fiction Lambda Literary award nominated graphic novel Artifice and his superhero graphic novel The Young Protectors to ALA 2015.
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Alexis Fajardo / Artist Alley Kid Beowulf is the graphic novel series wired.com calls “a gateway drug to the classics!” Meet cartoonist, Alexis E. Fajardo and dive into his fun, action-adventure comics inspired by mythology and literature. Visit www.kidbeowulf.com for more!
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Andy Warner / Artist Andy Warner will be selling minicomics showcasing comics in journalism and fiction. He will also be representing the Irene anthology, a critically acclaimed biannual indie comics collection featuring fantastic new work by cartoonists from all corners of the world, including Lebanon, Australia, France, Canada, Colombia and the United States.
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Aron Steinke and Ariel Cohn / Artist Alley Aron Nels Steinke and Ariel Cohn are married authors and will be showcasing their newest book from First Second called, The Zoo Box. Mr. Steinke, a Xeric Award Winner, will also have his previous children’s books and graphic novels available, as well as self-published all-ages comics. Ms. Cohn and Mr. Steinke will have buttons, original art, and prints.
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Becca Hillburn / Artist Alley The primary focus of Nattosoup Studio’s table is the studio’s two watercolor books- 7″ Kara, an all ages comic that follows Kara, a Lilliputian girl, and Gizmo Granny, a children’s chapter book written by Lenore Salazar and illustrated by Becca Hillburn. In addition, Becca Hillburn hopes to have copies of comic anthologies that have recently featured her work, such as Hana Doki Kira, the shoujo anthology, Chainmail Bikini, an anthology that focuses on female gamers, and 1001 Knights, an anthology of lady knight illustrations and comics. Although Becca Hillburn’s work is entirely kid friendly, these anthologies are geared more towards a YA audience.
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Ben Collison / Artist Alley I will have on hand original and unique artwork: paintings, tee shirts, drawings, postcards, stickers, coffee art. I will also be selling self published art books and Trade Paper Back books I have worked on.
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Carlos Nieto III – Artist Alley Former Simpson’s and King of the Hill artist Carlos Nieto III travels across the country providing libraries with a comprehensive, engaging and in depth Anime drawing workshop. Teaching the basics of the Anime face, expressions and body construction, your patrons will learn the necessary elements to create their very own Anime characters. No previous drawing experience needed.
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Chris Giarrusso / Artist Alley Chris Giarrusso will be selling and signing copies of the G-MAN SUPER JOURNAL as well as three volumes in the G-MAN graphic novel series. He will also be giving away G-MAN posters/prints, bookmarks and trading cards.
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Chris Schweizer / Artist Alley Chris Schweizer will be showcasing galleys from his new middle reader horror graphic novel series THE CREEPS (Fall 2015, Amulet Books). Special ALA event: The protagonists of THE CREEPS attend Pumpkins County Middle School, and are often stymied in their monster hunts by their inability to check out the spooky books which are closely guarded by the grand high librarian. But the librarians that attend ALA can show their patrons that they’ve got the privileges that our eponymous detectives don’t! “Pumpkins County Middle School Library: Forbidden Section Access” badges will be available, and Chris will be making them with small watercolor portraits of conference attendees in the style of THE CREEPS. He will also be signing books from the CROGAN ADVENTURES series and his sketchbook collections and is happy to talk about why TRUE GRIT by Charles Portis is one of the best YA novels ever.
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Christopher Herndon / Artist Alley Christopher Herndon has been feeding himself by way of the funnybook industry for over a decade. Most recently he has undertaken the gargantuan task of illustrating the Terra Tempo series. This has given him the great opportunity to educate and entertain those young and old about the real life monsters living in our Earth’s past. Smilodons, Mammoths, and Dinosaurs. Oh MY!
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Concrete Park / Artist Alley Concrete Park is the award-winning graphic novel series from Dark Horse Comics. Artist Tony Puryear and writer Erika Alexander create a diverse, compelling sci-fi world the Berkeley Graduate calls “Brilliant.”
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Daniel Corey / Artist Alley Daniel Corey is a writer of comics and graphic novels, and works with mega-publisher Image Comics. Corey’s Image series to date include MORIARTY, which follows the adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ greatest foe, and RED CITY, best described as “L.A. Confidential” on Mars.
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Fillbach Brothers / Artist Alley THE FILLBACH BROTHERS. Associated with FIRST COMICS we will have a library of our books for sale at discount. Plus we will have comps copies of new books and extras such as catalogs, t-shirts, and more. We will also be more than happy to sign every book as well as do free sketches for all who visit us.
Gareth Hinds / Artist Alley The award-winning author/illustrator of graphic novel adaptations such as Beowulf, the Odyssey, Romeo & Juliet and King Lear will be sketching, signing and selling his books, including his latest, Macbeth, which the NY Times calls ”stellar.”
Gregg Schigiel / Artist Alley Gregg Schigiel presents his original middle-grade graphic novel, PIX: ONE WEIRDEST WEEKEND, a suburban superhero adventure starring a costumed teen hero claiming she’s a fairy princess (a claim as-yet unconfirmed)! Copies of the book will be available for sale, as well as art prints, and free giveaways of a preview book of the first chapter.
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Ivan Brandon / Artist Alley DRIFTER v1: OUT OF THE NIGHT is in stores on June 17th from Image comics. DRIFTER v1 collects issues 1-5 of the sold out sci-fi series by Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein. In its frantic rush to survive itself, mankind has spread across the universe, colonizing and strip-mining countless planets. Abram Pollux barely survives a crash landing on Ouro, a lawless backwater world where life is cheap. What starts as a struggle for survival quickly becomes a journey to the very edges of what it means to be human, as Pollux searches for answers among the ruins of this forgotten world. And if he can’t have answers, he’ll at least have revenge. FROM THE CREATORS OF VIKING: Writer Ivan Brandon (Wolverine, Men of War) and artist Nic Klein (Captain America, Thor) reunite to bring you a chilling sci-fi tale from the strangest planet in the universe.
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Janet K. Lee / Artist Alley Janet Lee is the artist for several graphic novels (RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN), comics series (Marvel’s EMMA and NORTHANGER ABBEY, Image’s LOST VEGAS), and a contributor to sequential anthologies (Marvel’s ONCE UPON A TIME: INTO THE PAST, AMP’s READING WITH PICTURES). Her booth will include original artwork and prints, as well as copies of the books themselves.
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Jeremy Whitley / Artist Alley Jeremy Whitley and Emily Martin are the creators of the Eisner Award Nominated and Glyph Award Winning All-Ages comic series Princeless. Princeless is the tale of a young black princess who decides to escape her tower and save herself. Jeremy is also a frequent writer for the My Little Pony comic book series and Emily is an art teacher here in Northern California.
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Jimmie Robinson / Artist Alley Writer, artist and illustrator for a wide array of comic books, children’s books, and graphic novels. Published by Image Comics for over 20 years and a contributor to museums and feature films. Offering original art and books for sale.
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John Green / Artist Alley I will be exhibiting books and my original art from work co-created with DAVE ROMAN: the graphic novels “Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden” and “Teen Boat.” The second Teen Boat book comes out this September, so I’ll be showing off a lot of that one, possibly giving away bookmarks or posters or things. I will also be talking about and showing art from my new young reader graphic novel, “Hippopotamister”, from First Second Books. And I’ll also have original art from the Phineas & Ferb comics I’ve drawn for Disney Publishing.
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John Hendrix/Artist Alley Using my new book, Drawing is Magic, i’ll be doing drawing games and exercises to teach drawing and creative storytelling for all ages. Live drawing, demos, book signing, etc.
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Jonathon Dalton / Artist Alley Jonathon Dalton draws comics about strange worlds and the ordinary people who live there. His self-published young adult graphic novels include Lords of Death and Life, a superhero story set in a Mayan city, and A Mad Tea-Party, a sci-fi story about a poorly planned revolution.
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Joshua Hauke – Artist Alley Tales of The Brothers Three is a middle grade graphic novel series that chronicles the misadventures of three brothers with overactive imaginations and all the trouble they get into because of it. They fish for sharks out of the toilet, battle haunted mustaches, get sucked inside their mom’s vacuum cleaner, and they even have their very own sock-slurping monster.
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Justin Greenwood / Artist Alley Original 11×17 comic art, prints and a wide selection of the graphic novel collections of comics like THE FUSE, STUMPTOWN and WASTELAND.
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Kevin McCloskey / Artist Alley Original art from We Dig Worms!, 2015, Toon Books. As a tribute to worms, natures’ recyclers, the illustrations are painted on recycled grocery bags. Art directed by Françoise Mouly, We Dig Worms! is an educational hardcover comic book for children.
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Kill Shakespeare / Artist AlleyKill Shakespeare is an action-adventure graphic novel series (and board game) that pits the Bard’s greatest heroes against his most menacing villains.
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Kip Noschese / Artist Alley Meet Kip Noschese, author and illustrator of “Otto & the Grand Prix Bees,” a picture book for K-3. Autographed copies of “Otto & the Grand Prix Bees” will be available, as well as related educational materials and information on Kip’s upcoming titles.
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MariNaomi / Artist Alley MariNaomi will have her graphic memoirs, Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume and Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories, available, plus handmade books/zines and original artwork.
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Matt Phelan / Artist Alley Display will feature a look at the process behind the making of my books. Books and prints for sale. Plus an exclusive sneak peek at my 2016 graphic novel, SNOW WHITE.
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Mike Maihack / Artist Alley Mike Maihack will have his newest Scholastic published Graphic Novel, Cleopatra in Space #2: The Thief and the Sword, on hand as well as Cleopatra in Space #1 and a collection of art prints from a variety of genres.
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Nathan Hale / Artist Alley Nathan Hale, author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Hazardous Tales series will be signing, selling books, and drawing pictures at his table. He will likely also be working on the next Hazardous Tales book during the conference, so stop by to see it being created live.
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Nick Dragotta / Artist Alley Nick Dragotta is the artist and co-creator of the educational DIY comic book Howtoons and the New York Times bestselling comic book East of West with Jonathan Hickman from Image Comics.
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Nikki McClure – Artist Alley Nikki McClure of Olympia, Washington, is known for her painstakingly intricate and beautiful paper cuts. Armed with an X-acto knife, she cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper and create a bold language that translates the complex poetry of motherhood, nature, and activism into a simple and endearing picture.
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Oliver Chin / Artist Alley Called “an expert on Pacific Rim pop culture” by the San Jose Mercury News, Oliver features his multicultural, diverse, and wonderfully illustrated children’s picture books: The Year of the Sheep from the annual series Tales from the Chinese Zodiac, Julie Black Belt, Welcome to Monster Isle poster, and limited edition prints from Baltazar and the Flying Pirates, Timmy and Tammy’s Train of Thought, and The Adventures of WonderBaby: from A to Z. He wrote the middle grade/YA sports commentary The Tao of Yao: Insights from Basketball’s Brightest Big Man and the comic book 9 of 1: A Window to the World (Library Journal named it one of the best graphic novels on 9/11). He shares Immedium’s popular titles such as The Octonauts, Justin Time, Sora and the Cloud, Billie the Unicorn, and Sid the Squid. Get free postcards and a show special discount for librarians.
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Otis Frampton / Artist Alley Meet comic book writer/artist and animator Otis Frampton, creator of “Oddly Normal” (Image Comics) and one of the artists on the popular animated web series “How It Should Have Ended.”
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Paul Roman Martinez – Artist Alley Paul Roman Martinez writes and illustrates the self-published webcomic and graphic novel series, The Adventures of 19XX. The series is set in the 1930s and involves a group, called The 19XX, trying to prevent the spread of war with the help of various historical figures along the way.
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Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman / Artist Alley Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman will have graphic novels, t-shirts, mini-comics and original artwork in support of their kidlit comics SMILE, SISTERS, DRAMA, BABY-SITTERS CLUB, ASTRONAUT ACADEMY, and TEEN BOAT!
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Tony Cliff / Artist Alley At ALA 2015, I’ll be signing copies DELILAH DIRK AND THE TURKISH LIEUTENANT; I’ll have many handsome, colorful art prints, including the Delilah Dirk Travel Poster series, and most importantly I’ll be answering questions about and providing an sneak peek at DELILAH DIRK AND THE KING’S SHILLING, the second major DELILAH DIRK graphic novel.
0 Comments on ALAAC15: Artists Alley! as of 1/1/1900
Once again, librarians are meeting for their annual conference, this time in San Francisco!
So what happens when a bunch of librarians come to the city which birthed underground comics? During the Pride Parade? Well, a lot of cool librarians, cartoonists, and allies get together to talk about diversity in comics!
If you’ll be attending the ALA conference on Friday, you should make plans to attend this event! A stellar group of panelists, many of them award winning creators will be in attendance!
GraphiCon Discussion Forum: Diversity in Comics
WHEN: Friday, June 26, 2015 – 12:00pm to 4:00pm
LOCATION: Moscone Convention Center 3010 (W)
DESCRIPTION: #weneeddiversebooks is the hashtag of the moment, and #weneeddiversecomics is included in that call. This discussion forum will bring together a wide range of creators to take stock of where we stand: how diverse comics are now, where there are gaps, and where we’d all like to see comics go from here. Join us for a series of panels with creators, editors, and librarians to discuss the ins and outs of increasing diversity within the format.
The afternoon will be hosted by two Masters of Ceremony from We Need Diverse Books, Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung.
Each panel will examine different aspects of diversity in the comics community. We will start with a wide view of the industry, then narrow our focus with two panel discussions of gender and queer representation in comics.
His, Hers, and Theirs: Gender and Comics
In the past few years, critical and frequently heated discussions about women and comics have highlighted a range of issues around gender for comics creators and readers. Industry folks and fans alike are debating how genders are portrayed, the visibility of different gender identities, and the lack of representation. Join creators Tony Cliff (Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant), Tania Del Rio i (Diary of a Girl Next Door: Betty, Husbands, My Poorly Drawn Life), Brenden Fletcher (Batgirl, Gotham Academy), Jennifer L. Holm (Babymouse, Sunny Side Up), and Trina Robbins (From Girls to Girlz, Pretty in Ink) to take a look at all of the intersections between gender and comics.
Out of the Closet and Into the Library: Queer Comics are Here
Queer characters and storylines have had a turbulent history in comics, but that’s changing as new voices are using the format in pioneering ways. Join moderator Juliette Capra, a comic book fan, retailer and Valkyrie along with creators Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf, Henry and Glenn Forever and Ever), Noelle Stephenson (Nimona, Lumberjanes), Alex Woolfson (The Young Protectors, Artifice) and Mariko Tamaki (This One Summer, Skim) for this fun and informative panel with an assortment of comic book creators who speak to queer representations in current comics for a variety of audiences and ages.
#WeNeedDiverseComics
Our first panel will be a wide-ranging discussion of diversity in comics: where we are now and where we need to go from here. Have shifts in the industry and audience led to new opportunities for characters and creators? How is the industry changing to meet the demand for increased diversity within the format? Our panelists work on both mainstream and independent projects. Moderator David Brothers will lead the discussion with Becky Cloonan (Gotham Academy), Karl Kerschl (Gotham Academy), Gene Yang (The Shadow Hero, American Born Chinese), Ethan Young (Nanjing) and Jeremy Whitley (Princeless).
Schedule of events
12-12:15 Introductions
12:15-1:15pm #WeNeedDiverseComics
1:15-1:30pm Break
1:30-2:30pm Gender Panel
2:30pm-2:45pm Break
2:45-3:45pm Out of the Closet and Into the Library
3:45-4:00pm Wrap Up
Presented by the Graphic Novels & Comics Member Initiative Group; Special thanks to Viz Media for sponsoring the AV equipment for the Discussion Forum.
HASHTAG: #GraphiCon15
MEETING TYPE: Forum/Update/Assembly
CONTENT AREA: Books & Authors
INTERESTS: Diversity Popular Culture Public Programs Readers’ Advisory
TYPE OF LIBRARY: All
SPONSORS: ALA American Library Association (ALA)
COST: Included with conference registration
1 Comments on ALAAC15: Librarians Assemble For Comics Diversity!, last added: 6/25/2015
Ready for a long weekend in San Francisco? We know you’re planning your schedule and pondering where to eat and what to do, how to celebrate Pride, and how to navigate the Bay Area. In addition to all the recommendations from the Locals Committee, our partners at Chronicle Books created a great list of SF resources. Here are three final tips to help you prepare for the conference.
Bring layers. “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Mark Twain A scarf, light jacket, sometimes both will do the trick. Locals joke about their summer cashmere and winter cashmere. Check the weather and pack layers.
Enjoy SF Pride On Sunday, the Pride Parade will take over Market Street and Civic Center. Walking is recommended as taxi and public transport will be congested. To cross Market Street, find a Muni/BART station entrance, descend and cross underground to the other side.
Show your library pride. Find one of the many transit shelters, take a selfie, and tag #summerstride and #ilovemylibrary on the social media channel of your choosing.
Photo credit: San Francisco Public Library
Beyond all the ALA offerings, we’re excited to share our libraries with you! You are invited to explore any of our 27 branches and the Main Library. Check out The Mix, the new digital media lab for teens, Play to Learn Installation designed by the Burgeon Group in the Fisher Children’s Center at the Main Library.
If you’re skipping ALA, take tour of some of our favorite SFPL programs from the past year. Chris Raschka delivered the annual Effie Lee Morris Lecture, Herve Tullet made art with kids, and Latin Grammy Winner Lucky Diaz kicked off the 6th annual Tricycle Music Fest with a dance party.
Only a few weeks remain before the ALA conference draws thousands of librarians to San Francisco. San Francisco boasts a thriving literary scene, many exciting things to eat and do, and of course numerous ALSC events at ALA for learning, growing, and connecting. But how will you get to and fro? Silicon Valley having yet to offer us a viable jetpack–they could call it Google Blast! Engineers, are you listening?!–check out the currently available options.
Transit tips from locals
Hold on to your ticket/transfer! Fare inspectors on MUNI may ask for proof of payment at any time, so don’t just drop it in the bottom of your conference tote bag.
Keep your eyes up and your phone and other valuables out of sight. Criminals love distracted riders.
Due to the Pride Parade on Sunday, 6/28/15, all transit and traffic near Market Street will be rerouted. Expect major crowds and delays throughout the regional transit systems. If you are on foot and wish to cross Market Street during the parade, try crossing under instead: find a BART/MUNI station entrance, descend on one side of the street and come up on the other.
Getting around San Francisco
MUNI
MUNI is San Francisco’s citywide system of buses, trolleys, and light rail. MUNI fare ($2.25) allows unlimited transfers between any regular MUNI vehicles for 90 minutes. While San Francisco’s signature cable cars are technically part of MUNI, they charge a higher fare and often have long lines. If you have the time, however, it will be $6 well spent: the cable cars have loads of charm and some lines offer spectacular views. Check out the SFMTA website for details on MUNI fares, routes, and schedules.
Taxicabs and ride services
Your best bet for hailing a cab is on a major street downtown or at a hotel’s taxi line. Otherwise, you can contact one of the taxi companies listed on SFMTA’s website here. Besides licensed taxis, there are also private ride services such as Lyft and Uber where you will need to download the company’s app and create an account. Remember that sharing a cab or ride service with a colleague is often safer, greener, and more affordable than going alone.
Bicycling
Didn’t bring your bike with you to SF? No problem: several companies offer bikes (plus helmets and locks) for avid cyclists. Try Blazing Saddles, Sports Basement, SF Bicycle Rentals, Bike and View or City Ride. A visitor favorite is to bike across the Golden Gate Bridge and then take the scenic ferry back. For short trips within the city, Bay Area Bike Share has numerous stations downtown and near the conference center.
East Bay, North Bay, and South Bay transit
BART
BART is a commuter rail system that runs from Millbrae and the SF airport through downtown San Francisco and under the San Francisco Bay to outlying cities in the East Bay. A great option for traveling to either the SF or Oakland airports and for visiting East Bay destinations.
Caltrain
Caltrain, our other commuter rail, runs through San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in the south to San Francisco in the north. If you’d like to visit San Jose, Palo Alto, or other towns on the peninsula, Caltrain makes it easy.
AC Transit
While primarily offering bus routes throughout Alameda County (Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, etc.), AC Transit also runs Transbay buses that connect San Francisco and the East Bay. This is your public transit choice if you have missed the last BART train across the Bay, since Transbay buses run all night.
Golden Gate Transit
Golden Gate Transit operates mostly north of San Francisco proper (Santa Rosa, Sausalito, San Rafael, etc.) and also runs bus lines across the Golden Gate Bridge. Visitors often enjoy taking the bus to one end of the bridge and walking back across it.
Ferries
Ferries are a beautiful (if windy) way to travel from San Francisco to Oakland, Alameda, and Vallejo to the east (SF Bay Ferry) and Larkspur or Sausalito to the north (Golden Gate Ferry). There are also tourist ferries to destinations like Alcatraz as well as Angel Island and Tiburon. Ferries offer unrivaled views of the bay; bundle up and give them a try!
Just for fun
And because we are children’s librarians, I can’t resist sharing two charming SF-connected children’s books about transit: Maybelle the Cable Car, written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton and Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña with Christian Robinson illustrations. Happy reading and riding!
Today’s blog post was written by Sarah Stone, a librarian in the Collection Development Office at the San Francisco Public Library, for the ALSC Local Arrangements Committee.
This is a guest post from Susy Moorhead, a member of the Local Arrangements Committee for the ALA Annual conference in San Francisco.
In a little over a month Annual will be upon us! The conference is always an amazing event and I am sure this year’s will be another one. Sometimes though you just need a break from the hubbub and somewhere outside is often a perfect fit. These are my suggestions of some places to go right around Moscone when you need to take a walk outdoors or get some fresh air.
The Moscone Center is comprised of 3 halls – North, South, and West. North & South are underground, so you’ll definitely want to head outside periodically.
The main entrances of Moscone are located between 3rd & 4th streets off of Howard Street. If you have time between programs, for lunch, or even before or after your day at Moscone, here are some places close by to spend some time outside:
Yerba Buena Gardens is the closest large park and it is located just west of the main entrances to the North & South halls. It is between 3rd & 4th and Mission & Folsom. Here you can see the beautiful Martin Luther King Jr. memorial which is behind the waterfall. You will want to walk in the memorial from the north side. The waterfall lands in the largest fountain on the West Coast. If you pay close attention to the detail in the stone around the waterfall you will see our often present fog represented – you’ll probably be in the fog too. You can easily get lunch in the Metreon, which you will see to the south, and eat it on the grass.
Another park, a little farther from Moscone, where you can sit and eat lunch is South Park. Walk east and north four blocks to get there. It is between 2nd & 3rd street and Bryant & Brannan. This oval park was modeled after a London square in 1852. Initially it was only open to the residents immediately surrounding it. In the late 90s this was “ground zero” of the dot-com boom and after the bubble burst it quickly built up again as the site of web 2.0. It’s a beautiful spot away from the city. If you’ve read Confessions of Max Tivoli you might recognize this as a setting in the novel.
If you walk another two blocks east you will get to AT&T Park and there are lots of benches all along the water to sit and look at the Bay. Even though Otis Redding actually wrote "(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay" while in Sausalito, you may feel moved to sing it here as you gaze at the Bay Bridge and the Port of Oakland. By the way, the Giants will be playing the Rockies during conference.
A pleasant longer walk is along the Embarcadero from AT&T Park to the Ferry Building. Either way it is a beautiful loop, a little over 3 miles, which you can do from Moscone.
You’ll get to walk under the Bay Bridge and marvel at how huge it really is.
Along the Embarcadero you’ll see Cupid’s Span, inspired by San Francisco’s reputation as the home of Eros, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. I always thought it was an ode to Tony Bennett’s signature song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and to me it can be both--and maybe you, too.
At various spots along the Embarcadero you’ll find white posts topped with yellow and black stripes that tell some of San Francisco’s waterfront history.
Be sure to go inside the Ferry Building. There are delicious and iconic food stands and restaurants from the Bay Area inside (just to name a few: The Slanted Door, Hog Island Oyster Company, and Cowgirl Creamery).
If you want to see more of San Francisco’s great outdoors there is going to be a bike ride around the City at 2pm on Friday. Here is a link to the Facebook invite – the ride is open to everyone. The ride will include the Mission Bay Branch Library, AT&T Park, the Embarcadero, Market Street, the Main Library, Valencia Street, Mission Branch Library, and the beautiful Mission Murals. There is a Bay Area BikeShare station close to Moscone at 3rd & Howard. It’s very easy to rent one for either 24 hours ($9) or 3 days ($22) – you just need a credit card. And if the entire ride isn’t for you, you can return your bike at other stations in the City (right now they are only downtown).
And last, if you want a drink to go with your fresh air there are a couple places close by to get one. Dirty Habit is 5 floors up from the street in the Hotel Palomar on 4th St. between Mission & Market. They open at 5pm every day except Sunday. A beautiful place to go, especially after dark, for drinks and a meal is Claude Lane. It is located on the other side of Market St. parallel and west of Kearny St. (what 3rd St. becomes on the other side of Market). There are French and Spanish cafes and restaurants with beautiful patios and twinkly lights. You’ll think you’re in Europe! Really close by, but technically not outside, is the View Lounge on top of the Marriott Hotel on the corner of 4th & Mission St. Needless to say the view is amazing; check it out even if you don’t stay for a libation.
Have fun and don’t forget your layers! San Francisco can be really cold in the summer and you’ll hear this over and over again as a lot of visitors don’t initially believe it. You’ve been warned.
Brian Hibbs, far right, and some of his Comics Experience staff. Photo from the CE website
The other day we presented a story on long running SF comics shop Comix Experience and their plans to increase revenue in the face of the local rise in the minimum wage: a graphic novel book club that’s already had a positive response. It’s a serious issue for small business owners, and led to a lively comments section. I reached out to Hibbs to see if he had any comments on the comments and ever loquatious, he suggested an interview. The results can be read below.
Comis Experience has two locations, the iconic Divisidero St. shop just off Haight St. site of many famed signings by creators from Neil Gaiman to Warren Ellis and an early adapter of the grahpic novel movement; and a newer more superhero focused store on Ocean Ave. that Hibbs took over from a previous business last year. Hibbs has long been one of the most vocal comics retailers. His Tilting at Windmills column at CBR is must reading and the comics review blog he started Savage Critics is, unbelievably, still running after 10 years or so. I’m grateful for him to take the time to talk about issues that are sure to become more and more pressing around the country.
THE BEAT: In the Beat comments and a few other places you’ve gotten a lot of free advice on running a store in the Bay Area. Did you expect that when you announced this plan?
HIBBS: After seeing what happened to Alan Beatts of Borderlands Books after he told his story earlier this year, in the public comments sections of Facebook or mainstream news stories — people accusing him of being a monster or much worse — I was expecting a lot more advice from people without all of the facts! Welcome to the internet!
The thing is that these are flashpoint issues for a lot of people, with political under-currents that can’t really be ignored, and I totally get that, but I’m most interested in keeping my store moving into the future, and doing the best I possibly can by my wonderful staff.
THE BEAT: Just to make it as clear as possible when talking about something as personal as what people make for a living, the current minimum wage in California is $9 an hour. I believe you mentioned this in your own comment, but can you confirm that you currently pay your employees more than that? As I understand your comment, you would still have to raise wages in compliance with the new SF minimum wage hike?
HIBBS: Federal MW is $7.25, California is $9, San Francisco is (today this second) $11.05, and moves it to $12.25 in May (not July like I stupidly wrote in the original pitch), then to $13 on 7/1/16, $14 on 7/1/17 and $15 on 7/1/18.
I think it is also important for people to understand that San Francisco’s MW does not STOP at $15/hour after that — San Francisco has an older law that sets annual increases to the amount that the Consumer Price Index (tracked by the Federal government) in the Greater Bay Area rises. Historically, this is 2-3% a year. Therefore in 2019 it might be $15.45, $15.91 in 2020, $16.39 in 2021, and so on
But, anyway, at this second in time we’re obligated to pay $11.05/hour MW in San Francisco. However, we don’t pay MW, except for an initial three month training period. I have no employee currently that is making less than $11.25.
The thing is, as MW rises, so do we need to raise our pay — I’ve spent twenty-six years being a not-MW job (well, twenty-five, because I worked seven days a week in year one), and I don’t want to begin now. When MW is raised by $1.20/hour in May, I believe that means that the people I pay $11.25 today will need to make no less than $12.45 at that point, because, otherwise, are we not effectively CUTTING their pay? In the same way, I have to pay my managers more so that there’s, y’know, a financial benefit for being a manager, and they’re not making the same as “just” staff — and I can’t raise it less than the amount MW is raising by, otherwise, again, they’re effectively getting a cut.
Comix Experience Outpost on Ocean Ave.
THE BEAT: Doing back of the envelope math, $80K comes to $220 a day, which is a pretty hefty added expense for any small business. That would equal selling 55 periodical comics a day more, to put it in perspective. Were there any other methods besides a book club that you considered to make up the shortfall?
HIBBS: Fifty-five $3.99 comics, but more like seventy-four that cost $2.99. And I can’t change those cover prices — we’d lose more customers than we would gain in revenue!
For people asking about the math, it works like this: I have roughly 190 employee hours each week between the two stores. We’re open 10 hours a day at each of the two stores, seven days a week, so you can see that’s really not a tremendous overlap of hours to get all of the labor done that simply can’t be done with only one person in the store who is expected to be, y’know, helping customers find the things they want (or discover things they don’t know they want yet!)
The difference between today’s MW and 2018 is $3.95 /hour. $3.95 times 190 hours times fifty-two weeks a year equals just over $39,000 then we have to add about another $3,000 for the matching taxes that all employers pay for Social Security and Medicare, so that’s $42,000 more that staff will cost. (not counting the new-this-year California mandated minimum Sick Days, either!)
However, in order to make forty-two thousand dollars, this means I have to sell roughly eighty-four thousand dollars worth of merchandise because the Cost of Goods Sold is (very roughly) half of the income — no one is keeping $3.99 from a $3.99 comic book!
I rounded down for ease of communication, but I probably just as easily could have rounded up to $90k because of the various overhead costs that have to be dealt with (shipping, primarily, but there are always other marginal costs that begin to add up quick)
But, yeah, $80k+ is a big hill to climb for a small business.
I do have a few other ways I can help close the gap — I can certainly reduce the number of hours the stores operates for one, though it would help less than you might think because, often, the stores are slowest in the MIDDLE of the day. Further, the great Jim Hanley told me something that always stuck in my mind: you should be open for the customers who are there, not the ones who are not. There are absolutely days that your biggest sale of the day comes at 10:05 AM or 7:55 PM, and you can’t be certain if that sale would still be there if your hours weren’t convenient for the customer.
Comics Experience on Divisidero St.
So, yeah, I could reduce hours of operation, or I could cut staff overlap to be even tighter (though, it’s hard to see how the physical work of the store doesn’t start to slip some in that case), to work that much harder for the pay. I have that choice. There’s not a lot of other places that expenses can be cut, though — we run extremely lean on inventory, and we’ve got robust mechanisms for getting rid of excess stock that work pretty well; and we always do as much cost-pruning as we can for ongoing expenses — just as a dumb example: we’ve used high efficiency light bulbs for years. Hell, I have DSL in the store, rather than cable so that I can save the ~$60/month that entails. No, staffing the stores is, in fact, the single biggest expense each month, higher than rent and every utility and service combined.
And, while I would fire people if that’s what it absolutely positively took to keep the doors open, it is my fervent belief that bookstores that try to cheap their way out of cash-flow problems almost always enter the death-spiral at that point because customers can smell the stench of failure.
What I’d really much rather do, any day of the week, is grow the business enough to pay for this new mandate.
THE BEAT: People in the comments seem to think that owning a smallish comics shop, let alone two smallish comics shops, in the Bay Area with its insane cost of living rise in recent years is a doomed enterprise. How worried are you about the general prognosis for a small business in Google/Apple City, USA?
HIBBS: Don’t forget Twitter and Airbnb and Uber and Yelp too! Plus, The City gives tech firms millions of dollars of tax breaks, and basically pays nothing but lip service to small businesses.
Look: the comic shop that sold (I’ve been told) the largest number of periodical comics in San Francisco, Jeffrey’s Toys on Market street, just a few blocks from all of those tech offices downtown, was just forced out by their landlord who demanded that their rent raised from eight thousand dollars a month to forty thousand! A five-fold increase!
Who on earth can pay forty grand a month each and every month for retail space? A super-high-end restaurant like a Gary Danko or something…. maybe? San Francisco is littered with empty retail store fronts right now because commercial rents have gone nuts, and everyone is trying to get their piece. Just this month two different businesses (Michael’s Pit Stop, a bodega and keymaker, and the KK Cafe, which was a great little cafe where this wonderful couple, Jack and Margret, also made their own peanut milk) within a block of us have been kicked out of their space due to unbearable rent increases.
It is something I worry about each and every day. The main store has been month-to-month for twenty-one years now, my landlord has always refused my offers of a new lease, but they’ve also always been extremely generous about how they handle rent increases. I might have had a crisis long before now except for that. But I could be kicked out at any time with essentially no warning, or have my rent tripled, or whatever, and there’s no recourse.
Look: when I opened in 1989, we had twenty-four comic stores in town, and now we are down to just eight. Two of which are mine. I don’t like that.
Hell, we are probably the only major United States city that doesn’t have a single national-chain bookstore because the economics of bookselling are really hard in a city this expensive.
More generally, though, I do think that the climate for small business in San Francisco, especially small business based around art or creativity, is rough and getting rougher. I certainly expect that between rising rents and this new minimum wage mandate, business like mine which are currently profitable, but only by so much, are going to continue to be pressured over the next few years as the costs associated rise. All we can do is try to plan ahead for the things we can know about, which is really why I am trying to do the Graphic Novel Club.
I really think there’s a value and a need in a curated graphic novel program, because I really and truly think that there are a lot of people who would adore the output of the market…. if only they were aware of all of the choices they have. Comics rule pop culture, but there’s no one really saying “Here, civilian, here is a thing you should read each month”.
I have to think that almost everyone reading this could think of at least one friend or relative who might enjoy the program, and I super encourage folks to spread the word.
Are we “doomed” though? Well, hell no — I could always go back to just having one store and firing most of the staff and running it myself five days a week again; and given that fallback, it’s difficult for me to see almost any outside force making the store close. But, Heidi, that would be such a step backwards, and I’m trying with bold optimism, to move things forward.
The interior of the Divisidero St. store
THE BEAT: Are there any other steps you are taking to deal with the rising cost of living in the Bay Area?
HIBBS: Well, all you can do is try to diversify your store and your customer base and try to appeal to as many people as broadly as possible to help spread the words that comics are awesome. We’re now holding regular ladies nights to try to attract new women to the store (We had one on Ocean last night, and our next one on Divisadero is May 6th), and we’ve started a regular series of weekly videos for the new store to communicate their energy. We want for the original store to do a slightly more cerebral video series at some point — but, whew, only so many hours in the day to shoot and edit such things.
We’re about to start experimenting with doing children’s weekend mornings, with drawing classes and such, too — but ideas are easy; it’s execution and manpower and pulling off community and events without spending too much to implement the ideas that is the trick. Give me an infinite budget, and I bet I could do some amazing things — but the problem isthat budget (and the amount of hours available to DO promotion) and that it is always a limited thing that has to be worked in and around the normal day-to-day servicing of customers and keeping the store running, physically.
THE BEAT: As also mentioned in the comments, the theory behind the wage hike is a form of “trickle down” economics. Do you think it could eventually raise your customer base in some way?
HIBBS: Yeah, well, I have to say, living in a city where we’ve had raising minimum wage every year for the last eleven (well, wait, it didn’t raise in 2010, it looks like), I can not say that I can detect any kind of a correlation between a rising MW and rising revenue. Now, whether that is a result of cost-of-living rising faster than wages, or a result of something particular and specific about the relationship that comics fans and their buying habits share, or whether it is something that I am doing right or wrong, or whether it just has to do with the fact that human beings are messy, illogical beings that operate differently than “well, that sounds like a reasonable theory” would otherwise suggest, I just can’t say. But I am just not seeing any correlation in my sales.
Let me say, kind of as forthrightly as I possibly can, I am not an economist. I don’t actually understand a lot of the theorycraft behind it (though I try), but I do have 26 years as a business owner in a “realpolitik” way of watching my individual micro-economy, and I really think that any kind of “trickle down” is pretty much hooey for a business like mine. People, by and large, determine their budget for comics pretty independently of their specific income. I know plenty of plenty of people who are already spending above their means, and plenty who could pay five times more, but are super-picky, and every case study in-between.
Further, if I understand the various studies that I’ve read correctly, and I absolutely may not be, most studies are reporting on the macro, not the micro — they don’t give a shit about an individual person or entity as long as the overall picture shows a particular result. That’s reasonable of course, but my major concern is for for my staff and my store. I don’t want to be on the wrong side of that ledger. I don’t want to have to fire people, therefore making their new minimum wage zero dollars per hour!
If I understand the studies I’ve read, and, again, I really may not have understood them well at all, they generally show a “neutral” or “slightly improved” impact of small (25 to 50 cent per hour) MW changes. But within any survey there of course will be winners and losers from any kind of economic shift — it’s great that the economy as a whole is “neutral”, but that doesn’t help you if your own personal economy is “laid off” or “have to shut your business”.
Further, it is my understanding (again again again maybe totally wrong) that no credible economist can accurately predict what a raise in MW of this scale will do, because there’s absolutely no evidence since there’s never been a raise on this scale. It is going up 43% over three years, by $3.95 — that is literally unprecedented.
What I think is going to happen is either that more workers will become MW workers, or will get closer to being MW workers, because I have a hard time seeing every San Francisco based business giving each and every employee a $3.95 raise over the next three years, and / or common everyday transactions are going to have to go up as a result. You’ll pay fifty cents more for your coffee and a buck more for your burrito, and you’ll wonder why you seem to have no more money in your pocket at the end of the day.
One of my main frustrations with the law is that it is so arbitrarily, geographically. My minimum wage is going to be $15, but travel just a few minutes south to Daly City and it is only $11; even Marin to our north, which is historically filled with “rich people”, only maxes at $13. Within an half-hour drive, it is only $9.
But the real disconnect, for me, is that what is a “living wage”, and just how much individuals should be able to participate in decisions about their own compensation, and what that entails.
I think it is important to understand that raw dollars-per-hour is not necessarily the only calculation that people make for employment — sometimes people are looking more for respect and agency, while other times people have income needs wholly outside the notion of having to support themselves or their families.
I have staff who live at home and are full-time students; I have staff who are fully supported by their significant other, and who work because they want to generate some pocket money while they work on their art careers. I have staff who purposefully quit better paying corporate jobs to work for me because they have more agency here. And I have staff (Pretty much each and every one of them, really!) who are awesome enough to probably make two or three or five times what I am paying them, but who would rather be here than the many other choices that they have.
Ultimately, I try to be about empowerment — one of my staff specifically told me during the job interview that her goal is to open her own comic book shop someday. Hell yeahs! I am so down with that notion — because certainly one of my proudest days ever was when Michael Drivas learned just enough from me to help him open Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis – but isn’t, I dunno, “learning at the feet of the master” (ew, bad metaphor!!!) worth some sort of credit against hourly wage? Man, I charge my consultancy clients $100/hour for what I say. I mean, I clearly believe that I owe her for her time, duh, but shouldn’t we calculate “value” past only dollars-per-hour?
My bottom line is that I absolutely want to pay people every penny that they are worth, but the hard realities of profit-and-loss sometimes make that harder for others — whether that you’re in a high-expense city, or a low-expense town, I’ve met exceedingly few comic store owners that don’t struggle every day to take care of business.
The more important thing to me is how you deal with that struggle, and I’m trying to find a path that allows my staff to get paid more while making sure that I don’t contract the business so that five of them lose their jobs as a result.
Hibbs in his native habitat (photo from the SF Chronicle by Lacy Atkins)
THE BEAT: Do you foresee the wage hike affecting other shops in the area?
HIBBS: So, my two physically closest competitors are “family operated”, and I don’t believe employ anyone who is getting paid any kind of “hourly wages”. Which is 100% fine, but that means they have a smaller “nut” than I do to breaking even. Three of the other four stores in town have at least one employee, and so will be impacted to at least that degree. No one else in San Francisco, at least as far as I know, has six employees and the payroll that I face, but I do know at least one other store who has a plan to deal with their own shortfall that I assume they will be announcing soon.
Other geek-friendly shops in the area, book stores, game stores, to the extent that they have employees, will have to come up with extra funds to take care of those costs.
I don’t know exactly how clearly other stores are looking at their own liabilities. Until I wrote Alan Beatts I hadn’t actually bothered to take out the pen and actually figure out what the bottom line impact was. Then I crapped my pants when I realized the scope of it.
Thankfully necessity is the mother of invention, because I think I have solid, entrepreneurial plan.
THE BEAT: Finally, how is the book club doing so far? Any surprises or new wrinkles in the huge amount of time (two days) it’s been live?
HIBBS: We’re closing on 72 hours since I first put it live (but I don’t think anyone noticed for most of the first day) and we’re allllmost at the 25%-funded mark, which I think is an absolutely fantastic response, even though that still gives us miles yet to go. I’m also strongly hoping that we can beat the goal by really large percentage so that all of my staff can get paid well above the $15 hour MW as they properly deserve.
My hope of your readership is, even if they don’t think this is for them, is that they’ll think of someone they know who it might be a good fit for, and they’ll make a point of turning their friends on to the idea — from my point of view right now where we’re at, a share is as good as a subscription. We’re fully set up to handle nationwide subs, and the social media connections we have planned, as well as the streaming and recorded book club meetings will be, we hope, the icing on an already fantastic cake of content. If you know anyone who could use a sherpa to guide them through the mountains of comics being published today, I think the Graphic Novel Club is for them.
4 Comments on Interview: Retailer Brian HIbbs on the Minimum Wage and Surviving in San Francisco, last added: 4/10/2015
the intellectual dishonesty of blaming a three year, phased minimum wage increase for the financial problems of a small, independently owned, razor-margin business in the most expensive city in the country is made that much more frustrating by the fact that he grazed a couple of legitimate points.
Johnny Memeonic said, on 4/9/2015 6:28:00 PM
What was intellectually dishonest? You saying Hibbs’ math on his own business that he’s run successfully for years is wrong?
Dan vado said, on 4/10/2015 9:33:00 AM
hey Dandy, what business do you run that you can go out and accuse a stand-up guy like Brian of intellectual dishonesty? And, where do you run that business?
A rising minimum wage is hardly the only challenge a SF based independant business faces, rising real estate costs are killing people everywhere too, amd not just in SF but in the entire bay area. Pretty soon there may not be a comic shop, music venue or art gallery ANYWHERE in the bay and every artist, musician or otherwise is going to be living in the central value waiting for the next bubble to burst.
Cities like San Jose and SF force crap like minimum wage raises down a small businesses throat while companies like Google or Facebook or Apple (or take your pick) routinely use “interns” to get around paying anybody anything. Brian’s point about cities giving tax breaks to huge companies while doing nothing for small business hit home too. When SLG was kicked out of its place three years ago the developer who bought the property was given a subsidy that in the end came to close to two million dollars. On top of that their building permits and other city paperwork were all fast tracked.
What did I get for my trouble and for my 12 years of being in that location. Squat. I can guarntee you that the developer building that new aprtment did not have to wait for fours hours to talk to someone in the planning department the way I did.
So, nice way of saying until you walk a mile in someone’s shoes, go blow.
Seth hollander said, on 4/10/2015 11:23:00 AM
Dandy: can you explain your position? I know most of us have little opportunity in our lives to post more than off the cuff vague statements, but your statement is weightless without elucidation. You might be right, but that won’t be recognized without convincing substantiation.
What to eat and what to do in San Francisco (photo courtesy of Flickr user runner310)
“Where should we go to eat?” In San Francisco, that question can have a myriad of answers. Never fear, whatever you decide will be delicious. Considered to be mecca for foodies everywhere, be prepared for your taste buds to dance in gastronomical delight!
Here are my top three reasons San Francisco offers the best culinary experience.
First, we have a diverse menu to choose from for your palette. From Japanese to Vegan to Brazilian and Pakistani, there isn’t much that’s missing. In addition to the diversity in food, we also like to offer yummy cuisine Off the Grid style or in a food court like the Hall SF.
Second, food is just a hop, skip, or even a jump away in many of our neighborhoods. The Mission District is the first that comes to mind when it comes to door to door food options. When people think of the Mission District the Mission Burrito usually comes to mind, and yes it’s good, but there’s also so much more!
Third, and my final point although I could go on and on, you will always find traditional and long standing establishments such as the House of Prime Rib, The Cliff House, and Farallon among the new and innovative restaurants that pop up around the city.
The only downside to being in such a great place to find delicious food is deciding where to go. For your viewing and tasting pleasure, we’ve provided you with some of our favorite restaurants that are easily accessible by BART, MUNI, or within walking distance of the San Francisco Main Library, the Moscone Center, and the ALA hotels. Click here for some delicious dining options courtesy of the ALSC Local Arrangements team.
After a great meal, I love to walk around the city to do some shopping. Near the Powell Street BART station, you’ll encounter numerous shoppers walking up and down Powell Street as well as around Union Square. You can also spend a fair amount of time shopping in the Westfield San Francisco Centre which is also conveniently located at the Powell Street BART station. Fairly close and within walking distance is Chinatown. Take a picture on Bush Street at the entrance and then have fun visiting all of the shops and eateries. Another tourist must see for shopping is Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. You can find plenty of San Francisco themed gifts in both locations including one shop dedicated to Alcatraz. Don’t forget to take a picture with the famous sun bathing sea lions also known as the “Sea Lebrities while you walk around.
Today’s blog post was written Rebecca Alcalá-Veraflor, the Early Literacy Coordinator at the San Francisco Public Library, for the ALSC Local Arrangements Committee.
San Francisco is thrilled to host the ALA Annual Conference again this June. The Bay Area has a rich literary tradition and children’s books definitely are a part of it. Years ago, I wrote an article for School Library Journal (Déjà Views: A Tour of San Francisco Settings You’ll Recall from Children’s Books, SLJ, June 1997) that highlighted the city’s ties to Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane, Kathryn Forbes, Berta Hader, Jade Snow Wong, Virginia Lee Burton, Eleanor Cameron and Laurence Yep. Several of the books mentioned in it are now in limited supply, if not out of print. This is not surprising: Wilder’s letters to her husband Almanzo, chronicling her journey to the city to visit their daughter, popular journalist Lane, and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, were written 100 years ago (West from Home). Wiggin’s work to establish the first free kindergarten in San Francisco (funding it with proceeds from the sale of The Bird’s Christmas Carol) took place almost 30 years before that. Maybelle’s uphill battle to save her species—can anyone conceive of a San Francisco without its cable cars?—was based on the successful Citizens’ Committee to Save the Cable Cars, almost 70 years ago (Maybelle the Cable Car, by Virginia Lee Burton).
But the literary spirit lives on, and thrives. A list of current local children’s and teen authors and illustrators, or books set here, would be a long one.
Indulge me, then, as I mention just a few, and the ALSC Preconference: Distinguished and Diverse: Celebrate the 2015 ALSC Honor Books, on Friday, June 26, 2015, 11:30 AM – 4:00 PM, as there are several Honor Books (and their authors and illustrators) with Bay Area connections:
Yuyi Morales (Caldecott Honor Viva Frida) lives part time in San Francisco, and learned to make puppets from books borrowed from the Western Addition Branch Library.
Jon Klassen’s partner-in-imagination, Mac Barnett (Caldecott Honor Sam & Dave Dig a Hole) is from Oakland, and as teen, he was Peter Pan at Oakland’s Children’s Fairyland.
Belpré Illustrator Honor Little Roja Riding Hood, Susan Guevara, received her BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Author Susan Middleton Elya lives in the Bay Area.
All California children benefitted from Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation (Belpré Illustrator Honor, Sibert Honor), written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.
Several of the illustrious people profiled in Portraits of Hispanic America Heroes (Belpré Author Honor, by Juan Felipe Herrera) are well-known to the Bay Area, including Joan Baez and Rita Moreno.
We are so proud of talented local illustrator Christian Robinson, who created the Sibert Honor book Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker with author Patricia Hruby Powell.
And of course, those top-of-the-food chain Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands (Sibert Honor by Katherine Roy) are from our neighborhood (on a clear day, I can see the Farallon Islands from the park at the end of my street).
The Gold Rush may have ended almost two centuries ago, but San Francisco continues to offer literary gold—and several have shiny silver medals this year. Please join us in honoring them, and all other ALSC book honor winners, at the ALSC Preconference. Welcome back to the Bay Area, ALA!
Today’s blog post was written Carla Kozak, the Children’s and Teen Collection Development Specialist at the San Francisco Public Library, for the Local Arrangements Committee.
A group has formed in San Francisco to discuss bringing a comics festival to SF, currently bereft of comics event with the move of WonderCon to Anaheim and soon APE to San Jose. The group has called for a town hall meeting on Monday, October 20th:
Many of us were saddened by the news that the Alternative Press Expo will be relocated to San Jose in 2015.
San Francisco has the unique opportunity to imagine a new comics-centric festival from the ground up. Are we looking for another big hall convention with rows and rows of exhibitors? Or is SF more suited to host a multi-venue festival of comics? From tech to tradition, how can we leverage San Francisco’s strengths as a city to continue to make it a destination for comics professionals and enthusiasts alike?
Please join us for a town hall meeting to discuss the possibilities, challenges, and realities of establishing a new and exciting comics festival here in San Francisco.
Comics retailers, artists, writers, and industry professionals are all welcome to participate in this important discussion.
Directions to Timken Lecture Hall, 1111 8th Street, San Francisco:
https://www.cca.edu/about/directions
The meeting was formed by The California College of the Arts which offers an MFA n comics. The main organizer seems to be Matt Silady. and listed as attending are a bunch of Bay Area comics mainstays.
Without much knowledge of the local scene, the main factor would seem to be costs, as usual, as SF is currently one of the most expensive places in the US. Of course it is also one of the birthplaces of world comics culture, and still home to a few doughty souls who make a living in the funnies, and as well as some of the best known comics shops. Image Comics is nearby. There is certainly a vibrant scene there. Is there room for another CAF on the scene? Show up Monday to help find out.
2 Comments on A movement is afoot to bring a comics festival to San Francisco, last added: 10/17/2014
Such a typically San Francisco attitude that anything south of the airport requires a passport and a check of your vaccination record. Of course it would make perfect sense to set up a competing event to the few events left in the Bay Area ( and yes, San Jose is part of the Bay Area).
But I guess that’s why I did not get invited to their meeting.
Matt Silady said, on 10/17/2014 11:12:00 AM
Hey Dan,
There was no slight meant by not sending you a personal invite. The forum was announced via a public Facebook event page and all are welcome. We attempted to spread the word via social media. It definitely isn’t an invite-only talk. The goal for this forum is not to plan a competing SF event, but rather to have an open discussion to see what folks in SF event even want out of a comics festival within the city limits. We’re really interested in hearing if a Litquake-style, multi-venue festival might be worth considering. It’s just a public discussion and an attempt to think outside the box.
This Art Crush entry has truly been a long time coming. I first came across Lisa Congdon by way of Meighan O’Toole’s former art blog and podcast, My Love For You (which is post-worthy in its own right–it was an enormous source of inspiration for me during my college years). While I definitely gravitated to Lisa’s work on a visual level, it was her personal story that drew me in. Freelance illustration had been her second career. She didn’t start painting or making art until she was 31, and here she was, participating in museum-level shows, working with clients like Chronicle Books, and just being a genuine, successful badass. Lisa is not only someone I look up to artistically–she’s also a prime example of a human being.
Lisa’s art career was secondary, after she accumulated over a decade of experience in the education and nonprofit industries. By pure chance, she stumbled into a painting class and began making art of all kinds from that day forward–fueled by pure joy instead of the desire to succeed quickly. Having always been an avid collector, her random ephemera would find their way into countless collages as well as a series of photos, drawings and paintings that would eventually make up her A Collection A Day project. As she continued to develop her craft and share it with the ever-expanding Internet, people began to catch on. Today, she is an accomplished and prolific working artist, blogger, illustrator, public speaker and writer. Some of her most notable clients to date include The Land of Nod, The Museum of Modern Art, Harper Collins, 826 Valencia and Martha Stewart Living Magazine.
Lisa unabashedly tackles the subjects she is most passionate about, and that fearlessness is expressed effortlessly in the execution of her work. She describes herself as a “visual junkie,” and is deeply inspired by patterns, travel, architecture and vintage packaging, just to name a few. A faithful blogger, Lisa writes about her own process in addition to other artists whom she admires, as well as her life “outside the studio,” which includes swimming, biking, sewing, and traveling. In other words, she’s just making all of us look bad! (I only kid.)
One of the reasons I relate to Lisa’s work is due to the versatility and ever-evolving nature of her aesthetic. Certain characteristics like neon hues and her penchant for all things Scandinavian are mainstays, but she continues to branch out and explore all kinds of mediums (block printing and calligraphy, to name a few). These explorations fuel her work and expand her direction, which is most recently geared towards abstract painting. She’s a wonderful example of why you don’t need to narrow yourself down to one specific style (something I often grapple with).
Lisa is quite a unique artist in that she is not only a creator, but a mentor as well. Breaking into freelance illustration can be a challenging and solitary undertaking, and she continues to give her generous time to those who wish to pursue and learn more about the field through classes, speaking engagements and conferences around the country. I first met Lisa at her first Freelance Illustration class at Makeshift Society back in December 2012, and it was one of my most pivotal learning experiences to date.
Lisa recently released her new book, “Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist,” which is a revolutionary and timely answer to the starving artist stereotype. It covers all areas of the freelance artist’s domain, such as photographing fine art, finding printing services, copyright, and diversifying income. It sits on the shelf above my working desk (I like to call it my “VIP” shelf) as I reference it constantly.
On that same note, I’m very excited to be taking Lisa’s “Become A Working Artist” class through CreativeLive next week! You can follow along with the class virtually by RSVPing here.
To listen to Meighan’s podcast with Lisa, click here. I also highly recommend her feature in The Great Discontent.
All of these are 5" x7", done with Polychromo colored pencils on Fabriano paper
Prints and some of the originals are in the etsy shop. (These images are of the originals, with the paper texture background. For the prints, I used Photoshop to clean up the backgrounds to pure white.)
Go here to hear them sing the song in Central Park.
That's all I can muster today. Robin Williams leaving us has knocked the wind out of my sails, completely. He lived in my old neighborhood in San Francisco, and was part of the fabric of everyone's lives there for years. I just can't believe he's gone. RIP Robin.
0 Comments on Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme as of 8/14/2014 9:42:00 PM
A recent visit to San Francisco inspired me to think about oral story telling, publishing, an persuasive writing. Here are five things my trip left me thinking about. PLUS, leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win a copy of a new picture book from Chronicle Books.
Oxford is excited for the upcoming annual conference of the American Society for Environmental History in San Francisco this week: 12-16 March 2014. The theme of the conference is “Crossing Divides,” reflecting the mixed history of the discipline and California itself.
We’ll be at the Opening Reception, co-sponsored by Oxford University Press, MIT, University of Delaware, and the Winslow Foundation on Wednesday, 12 March 2014 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the Cyril Magnin Ballroom.
Pick up a complimentary copy of Environmental History and other key Oxford journals at the booth. The most current issue features new articles on the environmental history of work, environmental politics and corporate real estate development, the shift to steam power in water reservoirs, and how skiing transformed the Alps. The editors have also compiled a special conference-companion virtual issue that draws on the theme of “Crossing Divides.” And for your teaching and research needs we’re offering free trials of Oxford’s online resources. Check out census data going back to 1790 with Social Explorer or assign sections, chapters, or full texts of books with Oxford Scholarship Online. Pick up a free trial access card at the booth.
ASEH 2014 is offering a number of field trips, but the one we’re fired up about is a field trip to Muir Woods on Friday, 14 March 2014. In 2008 Oxford was proud to publish Donald Worster’s biography of John Muir, A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir. Worster discusses Muir’s appreciation for and belief in the power of the forest in this passage:
“Nature, particularly its forests, offered an ideal of harmony to a nation torn apart by conflict between capital and labor, country and city, imperialists and anti-imperialists. That harmony was first and foremost one of beauty; nothing in nature was ugly or discordant, a lesson that could be learned by hiking a trail into the Sierra or standing at the rail of a steamer along the Alaskan coast. The challenge was how to help American society achieve that same degree of moral and aesthetic unity.
“Violent confrontation was not the way to achieve ecological harmony, a beautiful landscape, or a decent civilization. One must start by resolving to conserve the natural world for the sake of human beings and other forms of life. Conservation offered both an economic and aesthetic program of social reform—learning to use natural resources more carefully, for long-term renewability, and learning to preserve wild places where humans could go to learn about how nature constructs harmony. Muir tried, as other green men did, to push conservation in both directions. Achieve these reforms, he believed, and a truer, better democracy would evolve in which people of diverse origins, abilities, and needs would live in greater peace and mutuality, just as all the elements of nature did. If a forest could thrill the sense and still the troubled heart with its harmonies, then society could become like that forest. Such was the hope of the green men.”
—Donald Worster, A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir
My own first experience in Muir Woods:
I grew up in the Northeast –I’ve tapped maples looking for sap, hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail and spent enormous chunks of my childhood climbing the pine tree in our front yard–I thought I knew trees. Last Spring, while visiting friends in San Francisco, we toured Muir woods and I very quickly realized that any of the previous trees I knew were mere twigs by comparison to the majestic redwoods. It was both powerful and humbling to be among these giants, feeling dizzy trying to find their tops and small trying to wrap my arms around one and not even getting half-way. Never before had I been able to step inside a fire-charred redwood or run my hands across the hundreds of rings in a fallen tree. Muir Woods is a beautiful, peaceful place and I am very glad I was able to experience it; it was an experience I will always remember.
—Elyse Turr, History Marketing
Elyse Turr in Muir Woods
See you in San Francisco!
Elyse Turr is an Assistant Marketing Manager for history titles for Oxford University Press.
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I see myself there, feet up and book , or kindle, in hand sipping iced tea with a big brimmed hat on. So peaceful:)
Laura A. H. Elliott said, on 10/21/2013 11:57:00 AM
Yes. And it’s a meditative garden. So wonderful. *waves* thanks for stopping by Suzy
Laura A. H. Elliott said, on 10/21/2013 11:59:00 AM
I see you heading toward me where I’m seated on the bench. I wave, my sketchbook and pens in hand. I pick up my glass of iced tea and we cheer to an afternoon of creativity! *waves* Thanks for joining me today
And not many words, for I am exhausted. (They don't call them Red Eyes for nothing.)
But, in order: Amber, Lara, Tamra, Stephanie, of Chronicle Books, who made my day there so special. Huge thanks to all four floors of the Chronicle team—so many working so hard, and so kindly, on behalf of a book we all believe in. I held Going Over in my hands for the first time. My friends, the packaging of this book is spectacular. The people behind the book are spectacular. And Tamra Tuller is more dear than she will ever know. Thank you, too, to Ginee, for hosting a dinner I will always fondly remember, and to Summer and Esme, for being first readers.
And then, at Book Passage, where I conducted a memoir workshop with truly talented writers, and where I spent extra time with Wendy Robards, who drove hours to join us. A beautiful moment. And then the opportunity to meet Linda Joy Myers, memoir workshopper supreme, in person. I'll be having a live tele-conversation with Linda (who is also the president of the National Association of Memoir Writers) later this month. Details to come.
Later that day, at Books, Inc., another memoir workshop, and time with my first Penn student (and muse from my corporate fairytale, Zenobia), Moira Moody Kuo, who is glowing as a new mom. Moira grew up and became a great teacher herself. She also became my first student to make me a pseudo grandmother. Moira, how could you? And also: I am honored, and thank you for your gifts and card.
Early the next day, I walked miles upon miles, to see (again) parts of this city I love. The fog had rolled in. The wild sea beasts were sunning. A dog had put on its shades.
And finally, a long ride to wine country, Santa Rosa, with Brian, the best driver ever. A man who has, as it turns out, driven many friends of mine—Ruta Sepetys, Jayne Anne Phillips, D.J. MacHale, Buzz Bissinger, among them—and who makes us all feel special. I spoke to a packed room of writers at the Flamingo Resort. I also met Vicki of Copperfield Books who had, she told me, laid the groundwork for my trip out west, by making one very special request of Gotham.
I'll be forever grateful. Thank you, Gotham team, for making the trip possible.
3 Comments on A few images from a blessed trip west, last added: 9/9/2013
Ahhhh! Chubby most adorable baby ever! Puppy with shades! Sun bathing sea lions! These pictures are too much for me on a Monday morning. So happy you had a beautiful trip with all of these beautiful people.
A whirlwind, Beth (I don't know how you do it!!!)...and such a joy to spend time with you. I loved the workshop - what a fabulous way to spend two hours ... soaking up wisdom from one of the finest writers I know, and writing. Just wonderful. Thank you!
Whew! What a fabulous weekend…hung out with some old friends and made some new ones. Thanks to all the wonderful folks who stopped by to say hi!
Got to meet some wonderful readers like Sabrina! <3
A big shout out to Angela, Sydney & Kate, Carly and Vivian too
Hanging with my booth buddies!
Got to make some new friends who happen to be best selling authors too From Left Stephanie Holster, Nikki Jefford and my awesome roomie Bethany Lopez!
Hanging at The Blue Mermaid with authors Aleatha Romig, Stephanie Holster, Leigh Talbot Moore & their hubbys! Happy anniversary Leigh!
And WHAT would San Francisco be without a little seafood and some awesome live music (& lots and lots of stories ) We were joined by the amazing Kris Kendall, Angela Orlowski-Pert, & Diana Murdock too!
As much fun as all that was…the party continues now, because I came away with some FABULOUS reads I never knew about before and I’m dying to share my SFINE TBR list with you!
Squeeee! I’m devouring these books as fast as I can! You should check them out too
I hope you find a great read on this list for your own TBR What a great way to kick off the summer! And I’m so excited to have all this swag that I thought I’d share a little with you too So, if you want some SFINE swag, let me know in a comment here.
More about the book signing this week…until then, what’s been inspiring you lately? I am constantly inspired by a book I read called You Are Your Choices by Alexandra Stoddard. Among the many things Alexandra talks about in the book, she suggests making choices based on Aristotle’s triangle which has three points of consideration: The Good, The Beautiful & The Truth. I’ve been really focused on making my choices being mindful of these three things. It’s really helped me over the past few months. Have a great week! I’ll see you on Wordless Wednesday
0 Comments on Monday Muse: SFINE (San Francisco Independent Authors Book Signing Event) as of 6/17/2013 2:41:00 PM
Pick up a complimentary copy of 
ASEH 2014 is offering a number of field trips, but the one we’re fired up about is a field trip to Muir Woods on Friday, 14 March 2014. In 2008 Oxford was proud to publish Donald Worster’s biography of John Muir, 
xx
I wish I could have met more Lee & Low authors and illustrators! Congratulations again on the award. I’m excited to work with you on the Diversity Baseline Survey!