Back in 2010, the American Library Association held their Annual Conference in Washington, DC. There were comics publisher and distributors there, a few mainstream publishers had started publishing comics, and YA librarians loved how manga engaged teens to read. (Here’s what ICV2 reported back then.)
Nine years later, ALA returns to DC, and (sorry, Heidi)
CRASH, BOOM, BANG!
Librarians Love Comics!
There’s all the stuff on the exhibits floor (publishers, autographings, stages, pavilions, artist alley) that, alone, would make this trade show and conference rival most comic cons! (Gilbert Hernandez. Frank Miller. Nnedi Okorafor. Raina Telgemeier. Nathan Hale. Dan Santat. Ngozi Ukazu. Jon Muth.)
What really makes ALA so amazing are the many sessions held during the conference. While the show floor is open from Friday evening until Monday afternoon, the actual conference begins Thursday at 8 AM, and ends Tuesday at 4 PM! Some of it is business meetings, some is professional development, and some is fun stuff, like tours of local libraries and special collections! And it’s all designed to make librarians better at promoting comics to their local patrons! (Psst… you may not know… but just about any town with 1,000 or more people… it’s got a library. Probably two, if you count the local school. Probably more, if there’s a college, or it’s a major metropolitan area. Probably more libraries in that area than Starbucks, and those libraries appreciate comics and graphic novels, because comics are popular. Don’t believe me? Go visit your local library and ask the nice employee behind the reference desk.)
Here’s a nigh-definitive list of all the events that comics-loving librarians are interested in, with a few extra geeky distractions added!
All require a “full conference registration”.
“GNCRT” refers to the Graphic Novel and Comics Round Table, a chartered group of comics librarians and other allies, kind of like Justice League Unlimited, if the Justice League hung out at libraries.
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Friday, June 21, 2019
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11:00 AM – 3:00 PMGNCRT Friday Discussion Forum: Social Justice and Comics
Location: Washington Convention Center, 152B
Mariko Tamaki – DC; Bizhan Khodabandeh – Virginia Commonwealth University; Kelsey Wroten; Vita Ayala; Brian Selznick; Joanna Karpowicz; Ryan Estrada; Hyun Sook Kim; Hazel Newlevant – Lion Forge Comics; Jen Wang; Nicholas Aflleje – Image Comics, Inc.; Sarah Delaine – Image Comics, Inc.; Jon Muth; Tini Howard; Gene Ha; Karim Friha – French Comics Association -
7:30 PM – 10:00 PMALA Play
Location: Renaissance, Grand Ballroom North -
Saturday, June 22, 2019
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8:00 AM – 10:00 AMGNCRT Comics Breakfast
Location: Renaissance, Grand Ballroom North
Chloe Ramos-Peterson – Image Comics, Inc.; Terry Nantier; John Gurney; Larry Hancock; Erik Ko; Spencer Simpson – BOOM! Studios; Greg Pak; Delilah Dawson; Nazeli Kyuregyan-Baron – Europe Comics; Flavia Biondi; Christophe Ferreira; Thierry Laroche; Karim Friha; Wilfrid Lupano; Nathan Fox – Image Comics, Inc.; Shae Beagle – Image Comics, Inc.; Jacq Cohen – Fantagraphics Books; Ezra Claytan Daniels; Mark De Vera; Mark Siegel; Joey Weiser; Wendy Xu; Leigh Walton; Jarod Roselló; Justin Eisinger; Harley Salbacka; Paul Downs; Dan Goldman; Andrew Smith; Brian Selznick -
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMManga: More Diverse and Stronger Than Ever!
Location: Washington Convention Center, 152B
ben Applegate – penguin random house -
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMGNCRT Metadata & Cataloging Committee Meeting
Location: Washington Convention Center, 148 -
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMManga: More Diverse and Stronger Than Ever!
Location: Washington Convention Center, 152B
ben Applegate – penguin random house -
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMWorking with Your Local Comic Shop
Location: Marriott Marquis, Supreme Court
Jenn Haines; Betsy Gomez - 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
BOOM! Studios: Discover Yourself in Graphic Novels
Location: Washington Convention Center, 146B - 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Booklist’s Graphic Novels in Library Month Panel
Location: Washington Convention Center, 147A - 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Behind the Scenes: Creating a Diverse World of Comics
Location: Marriott Marquis, Monument
Peggy Burns – Drawn & Quarterly; C. Spike Trotman; Thierry Laroche – Gallimard / The French Comics Association; Bill Campbell - 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
CANCELED: Celebrate Batman’s 80th and the History of Batman in the Library
Location: Washington Convention Center, 152B - 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
“Batman & Bill”
Location: Washington Convention Center, 209A-B - 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries Reception
Location: Conrad, Grand D -
Sunday, June 23, 2019
- 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Auditorium Speaker Series featuring Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler
Location: Washington Convention Center, Ballroom B-C - 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
GNCRT Membership Meeting
Location: Washington Convention Center, 207B - 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
All the Ways We Can Be: Deconstructing and Expanding Identity in Comics Narrative
Location: Washington Convention Center, 206
Shae Beagle – Image Comics, Inc.; Brenden Fletcher – Image Comics, Inc.; Tee Franklin – Image Comics, Inc - 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
GNCRT President’s Program – State of the Comics Union: Past, Present, and Future
Location: Washington Convention Center, 146B
Jason Lutes – Drawn & Quarterly; Raina Telgemeier – Scholastic; Jaime Hernandez – Fantagraphics Books - 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Discussing Social Issues through Speculative Comics
Location: Marriott Marquis, Monument
Ezra Daniels – Fantagraphics; Sanford Greene – Image Comics, Inc.; David Walker – Image Comics, Inc.; Delilah Dawson; Greg Pak - 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM
ALA Awards Presentation & President’s Program featuring Nnedi Okorafor
Location: Washington Convention Center, Ballroom B-C
Nnedi OkoraforMonday, June 24, 2019
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9:00 AM – 10:00 AMExploring Trauma and Recovery through Comics
Location: Washington Convention Center, 158A-B -
9:00 AM – 10:00 AMGraphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT) Board Meeting
Location: Washington Convention Center, 302 -
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMGoing Just Beyond with R.L. Stine
Location: Washington Convention Center, 154A-B -
1:00 PM – 2:00 PMTragedy, Healing, Understanding: Teaching Civil Rights through Primary Sources and Graphic Novels
Location: Washington Convention Center, 150B
Daniella Cook – University of South Carolina/College of Education/Department of Instruction & Teacher Education