CREATORS IN CONVERSATION
Forthcoming: Publishing and Working with Editors
Sat 16 September 2023, 2:15-3:15pm
Studio 01, Adelaide City Library, Level 3 Rundle Place, 77-91 Rundle Mall, Adelaide, South Australia
Cost: FREE (no booking required, but RSVPing on Facebookย will help us know how many people to expect)ย
Rachel Ang (VIC), Scott Pritchett (VIC) and Briar Rolfe (VIC), with Georgina Chadderton (SA) (chair)
Get a front row seat with emerging voices in the world of graphic novels! Our panel of debut authors will share their experiences of working with editors and publishers in bringing their graphic novel projects to life, from navigating submissions to refining their work in collaboration with editors. Whether you’re a creator looking to learn or an avid reader interested in what happens behind-the-scenes, this promises to be a fascinating exploration of the hurdles and rewards of working with a publisher. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from the next wave of graphic novelists!
Forthcoming: Publishing and Working with Editors is presented by CDW Studios!
All guests will be available to sign books after the panel, and some panellists will have work for sale.
This session will feature sign interpretation in Auslan, provided by Deaf Connect.
BIOGRAPHIES
Rachel Ang
Rachel Ang (she/they) is a writer and comics artist from Melbourne. They work as an architect as well as teaching and mentoring at universities and schools. Rachel has always loved printed matter, and wrote and illustrated their first bookโa fan fiction take on Peter Rabbitโin prep. Rachel wasnโt satisfied with that though, and wanted to create their own characters.
While their apex mountain has always been to make and publish graphic novels, Rachel has also had the good fortune to work with many fine magazines and journals such as The New Yorker, The Washington Post and kuลก!, and Australian periodicals like The Age and Meanjin.
Finally, about 26 years after their experiments with plagiarising Beatrix Potter, Rachelโs first book, Swimsuit, a sad novella about going to the pool, was published by Glom Press in 2018. Those who read it liked it a lot, and it won a Silver Ledger from the Comic Arts Awards of Australia.
Rachel is now extremely honoured and excited to be working on a much larger book, a collection of short stories provisionally titled What You Seek (Is Seeking You), which will be published by Drawn and Quarterly in 2024 as Rachel’s international debut.
Scott Pritchett
Scott Pritchett (he/him) is an illustrator and writer, originally from Perth/Boorloo and now based in Melbourne/Naarm. His artistic style draws on 1990s manga and anime (at age 7, he was convinced he was Saiyan), French comics, and many art gallery visits.
While working as an internationally awarded Art Director since 2014, his long-term passion for comics culminated in the release of the first chapter of Stoneseeker: The Floating Isles in January 2022. This self-published fantasy adventure series has been very well received, with the final chapter having been released this year. Replete with floating stones, geological magic and intrigue, itโs a perfect fit for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender, while embracing its own identity and themes. All three chapters are now available.
Scott is a regular attendee at comics festivals and events across Australia. He is represented by Annabel Barker Agency, and is looking forward to bringing the world of Stoneseeker to a wider audience as a graphic novel.
Briar Rolfe
Briar Rolfe (they/them) is a nonbinary graphic designer, cartoonist and illustrator who lives on Wurundjeri land in Melbourne. Their career began in the indie comics scene, creating zines and comics about transition, Shakespeare and political resistance. Their illustrations have been published in the journal Going Down Swinging. Briar was also shortlisted for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia in 2017, and highly commended by the Kat Muscat Fellowship in 2020.
In 2022 Hachette Australia announced the acquisition of Briarโs debut YA graphic novel, Get Your Story Straight. Following in the vein of Briarโs indie work, Get Your Story Straight is set to be a genre-bending and format-pushing comedy. It will follow Henry, a 19-year-old trans man who is out to everyone except his conservative Christian parents. Briar has referred to this work as their big transgender love letter to the romcom genre, representing aspects of the Australian queer experience against a background of Australian characters, landscapes and storytelling. The novel is currently set to be published in 2025.
Georgina Chadderton (chair)
Georgina Chadderton (she/they) is a cartoonist from South Australia. Their comic Harry Potter and My Childhood Obsession was shortlisted for the Comic Arts Awards of Australia in 2017. Their debut graphic novel, Oh, Brother, will be published by Penguin Random House in 2024. They developed this project with support from the Colin Thiele Creative Writing Scholarship, the inaugural Ian Wilson Memorial Fellowship, and several Arts SA grants. Georgina attended the Comic Art Workshop in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022 and has been an artist-in-residence at Milktooth, 100 Story Building, and MOD. Georgina is co-founder and co-director of Papercuts Comics Festival.
Presented by CDW Studios
We are very grateful for CDW Studios’ financial support for this panel! CDW Stuยญdios School of Visuยญal Effects and Enterยญtainยญment Design has been runยญning since 2011 and proยญvides artists Ausยญtralia-wide with the most up-to-date and relยญeยญvant eduยญcaยญtion availยญable to kickstart their career. You can find out more by visiting their website or by following them on Instagram or Facebook!
