OUR STORIES
25th November 2023 Nottingham Central Library 1
Illustration © Leanne Coelho Design by The Big Idea 2
About Our Stories Over three days, Our Stories champions the bold steps publishers are making to advance equality, amplify the stories of LGBTQ+ writers and illustrators, explore routes into publishing for aspiring authors, and considers the future possibilities for representation in books for all ages. By bringing together young people, writers and illustrators working in every form of literature, and publishing folk from the UK and Ireland, Our Stories aims to spark a conversation with the industry, and ultimately to empower a next generation of LGBTQ+ writers and illustrators to take up pathways into publishing. Our Stories is in part a celebration of the Rainbow Library, a groundbreaking LGBTQ+ inclusive children’s literature creation and publishing project. In Nottingham and Basildon, aspiring graphic novelists and comic book writers undertook an intensive storytelling residency where they learnt the core building blocks of visual narratives. Read their published anthology here
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Nottingham / 25th November 2023 10:00am 11:00am
11:00am 11:45am
DOORS OPEN Orientation, refreshments, register for afternoon workshops Game Changing Comics & Graphic Novels PANELLISTS: Miggy & So Mayer CHAIR: Hannah Trevarthen, Director of Nottingham City of Literature Alison’s Bechdel’s Fun Home changed the publishing landscape for inclusive publishing and helped pave the way for other creators and artists producing work for a range of ages. Since then there have been many other comics and graphic novels that have shifted perspectives. So Mayer joins us to discuss game changing publishing and the importance of intergenerational dialogue.
12:00pm 12:45pm
Unboxing Histories and Heritages PANELLISTS: Jules Scheele & Jake Hall CHAIR: Jake Wild Hall How do you unbox big ideas and history and make them accessible to new audiences? Jules Scheele, the illustrator of a number of graphic non-fiction histories including Queer and American History, and Jake Hall, the author of The Art of Drag discuss tackling heritage and more with Jake Wild Hall, publisher, bookseller and contributor to Bi+ Lines.
12:45am 1:45am
LUNCH BREAK
1:45pm 2:30pm
Reframing Our Stories: Exploring Adaptations PANELLISTS: Octavia Nyombi & Ramzee CHAIR: So Mayer Heartstopper catapulted ‘Queer Joy’ onto our screens and into the wider world. A panel of fans, screen industry professionals, and creators discuss the appeal of Heartstopper, adapting comics, graphic novels and books to other content formats and how adaptations can be a gateway for young people finding a wider representation of communities and stories.
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nottinghamcityofliterature.com
Publishing Our Stories: Publishing Processes, Successes and Challenges PANELLISTS: Gareth Peter & Katie Blagden CHAIR: Hannah Trevarthen, Director, Nottingham City of Literature
2:45pm 3:30pm
Join Katie Blagden, Gareth Peter, and Beth Risidore for a discussion aimed at demystifying the publishing process and helping emerging writers and illustrators to navigate the publishing process with renewed confidence.
WORKSHOP 1:
An Intro to Queer Autobio Comics with Jules Scheele Autobiographical comics and zines can be an empowering and easily accessible medium for writing about our own subjective experiences and reflecting on our queer identities. In this workshop we will look at a wide variety of existing queer autobio work, talk through the challenges of writing about yourself and others, and get started on making our own short autobio zine.
3:45pm 5:00pm
WORKSHOP 2:
Manifesting ideas with Ramzee Do you have lots of creative ideas but not sure how to get them down on paper? Storyteller and cartoonist Ramzee will guide you step-by-step through the process of taking ideas and turning them into your own unique creation.
Closing performance and networking
5:00pm 6:00pm
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Meet the speakers
Katie Blagden Katie is a literary agent representing authors across all areas of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s, Young Adult, and Graphic Novels. Before joining the Literary team, she worked for Bright in marketing, with previous experience as a bookseller and as a video producer. Katie is an advocate for centring traditionally underrepresented voices, and actively works to discover and develop authors and authorillustrators from diverse backgrounds. When she’s not reading, Katie is a contributor on the Graham Norton Book Club on Audible and she also runs the Bright Dungeons & Dragons club!
Jake Hall Jake Hall is a Sheffield-based freelance writer focussing on queer culture, art and politics. Their first book, The Art of Drag, was released in 2020 and their second, Shoulder to Shoulder, is being published by Trapeze Books in May 2024.
Ramzee Ramzee is a storyteller and cartoonist who has been making comics since 2015 and was nominated for a British Comics Award in 2016, has facilitated comic workshops in the UK and Norway, and has spoken on BBC Radio.
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So Mayer So Mayer is a writer, bookseller, organiser and film curator. Their first collection of short stories Truth and Dare is out from Cipher Press in July 2023. Their most recent book is A Nazi Word for a Nazi Thing, a book-length essay on queer films, bodies and fascism for Peninsula Press, and their most recent collaborative projects are Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin (Silver Press), The Film We Can’t See (BBC Sounds), Unreal Sex (Cipher Press), and Mothers of Invention: Film, Media and Caregiving Labor. So works with Burley Fisher Books and queer feminist film curation collective Club Des Femmes.
Octavia Nyombi Octavia is a performance artist who acts, writes, directs and facilitates. She has a passion for bringing together communities through crosscultural art and conversations, recently directing Nottingham’s new trilingual play, ‘Mara Ba.’ She is integral as Nottingham Playhouse’s Youth Board Chair, setting up their award-winning Queer Arts Collective.
Gareth Peter Gareth Peter is an author and stay-at-home dad, living in the East Midlands with his partner, two huskies and their two adopted children. In 2018 Gareth was selected as one of ten exceptional finalists onto the Penguin Random House WriteNow mentoring scheme, seeking new voices from under-represented communities. His experience as a parent within a same-sex couple brings a fresh, funny and sensitive perspective to parenting and family life. His three debut picture books My Daddies, Forever Star and Who Will You Meet on Santa Claus Street? published in 2021. He is also published by Scholastic and Lantana.
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Meet the speakers
Jules Scheele Jules Scheele is a freelance illustrator, comics artist and live scribe based in Glasgow, Scotland. He specialises in graphic storytelling that helps translate and bring a human touch to difficult concepts. He is the illustrator of the Queer, Gender and Sexuality Graphic Guides for ICON Books with author Dr. Meg-John Barker, and has also provided illustrations for A Drag Queen’s Guide To Life by UK Drag Race runner-up Bimini.
Jake Wild Hall Jake Wild Hall is one half of Bad Betty Press, the founder of OOIPP fest, one fifth of Boomerang Club and winner of the PBH 2016 Spirit Of The Free Fringe Award. He has performed on BBC Radio and at festivals and literary events across the UK, including touring his debut pamphlet Solomon’s World— longlisted for Best Pamphlet in the 2018 Saboteur Awards. He co-edited anthologies The Dizziness of Freedom and Alter Egos (Bad Betty Press, 2018 and 2019). He is a multiple slam champion and his work has been published in magazines, anthologies and online journals. His second pamphlet BLANK was published in 2019 he is currently working on his first collection Alanis Morissette.
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Beth Risidore Beth is a 19 year old student at the University of Birmingham, who studies a range of modules from languages to film studies. They enjoy reading, listening to music and writing stories with as many queer characters as possible. Beth took part in the Rainbow Library project and their work features in the published anthology.
Miggy Miggy is a queer disabled writer and ideas generator. They make poetry and collaborative work with @unfinishedartcollective, a group creating art inspired by other people’s rejected projects. Miggy’s work was also published in the Rainbow Library anthology.
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