Bookbuilders of Boston is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing together people involved in book publishing and manufacturing throughout New England. Our blog describes industry events that we sponsor or attend.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Bookbuilders @ the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo

MICE (that's the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo) was this weekend in Cambridge, and several of our members attended. Here's some of what they did and what they enjoyed most.

Iris Febres, New England Book Show co-chair: "MICE was really fun! I got to attend a cool workshop on writing comics, which was led by Alexander Danner, a playwright and special instructor at Emerson College who teaches in the graphic novel certificate program. I learned about the power of the panel for framing content and tone within a comic. And of course, after hearing a panel on graphic novel development with three amazing artists, I bought lots of books."
Alexander Danner, comics writer and special instructor at Emerson College leading his workshop, "Writing Comics" A snapshot from "Developing the Graphic Novel," a panel featuring artists Raina Telgemeier, Paul Hornschemeier, and Emily Carroll (not pictured), moderated by Alexander Danner

Miranda Martin, blog editor (that's me!): "This was my first time at MICE, and I had a blast at 'Iron Cartoonist,' an improv competition that pitted three comic creators against each other to draw some zany scenarios on the spot. I also attended a panel on editing for comics and met some great comic creators who were exhibiting their work. Some of my favorites were Bikeyface (whom I'd met once before), Alisa Harris, and Eleri Harris."

Contestants Jon Chad (left), Eleri Harris (center), and Carey Pietsch (right) competed in "Iron Cartoonist." This round challenged them to draw a machine that  makes fish.


Tanya Gold, New England Book Show committee member: "I returned on Sunday for a fascinating panel on marketing for micro-presses and self-publishers. The panelists had diverse perspectives and a great sense of humor. They discussed manufacturing, social media, crowdfunding, events, and attitude.  

Some great tips: Start small. Make yourself as approachable as possible. Ask your fans for retweets. Get everyone’s email address. Cut out the self-deprecation. Invest in gel insoles."

It was great having all these indie comic creators in our community. Soon, we'll be posting the call for entries for the 58th Annual New England Book Show, and we're excited to welcome comics and independently published books of all kinds. We saw lots of great stuff this weekend that we hope we'll see again.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you so much! I'm very glad that people seemed to enjoy my workshop. And it was a great privilege for me to have opportunity to work with such stellar creators as Raina, Paul, and Emily--I've admired all three for years.

    If I could add one detail, I should mention that my writing workshop was sponsored by The Writers' Room of Boston (http://www.writersroomofboston.org/), a non-profit organization offering affordable workspace to Boston-area writers. We're holding an open house on Wednesday Oct. 29th, and would love show our workspace to any interested local writers.

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