From English legend, Neil Gaiman to our homegrown artist, Orijit Sen, the world of graphic novels and comics has seen some extremely talented artists from around the world. Even though in India, the graphic novel is not as popular a genre as it is in the States or Europe, publishers are paying more and more attention to it. When Orijit Sen created India’s first graphic novel, The River of Stories, in 1994, the graphic novel genre was born in the mind of Indian readers, for whom it represented a new type of literature.
Although the pioneer of graphic novels has been the United States, the genre has gained more and more popularity in Asia over the last couple of decades. Nepal’s history with graphic novels is hard to pinpoint but it is said to have begun when Kripa Joshi created the path-breaking character of Ms. Moti in her graphic novel. In this piece we're bringing you a wonderful workshop that is promoting the art of both graphic novels and comics genre.
The third edition of the Nonfiction Graphic Comics Workshop is on its way which will connect writers and artists. The workshop is ideal for all artists and writers who are willing to collaborate and tell their non-fiction stories through graphics/comics. Writers and artists, who will register for the workshop, will be teamed up to create original short comics or graphic shorts, which will be published online between August -December 2023.
In this workshop, you will embark on a journey of creating a graphic novel/comics with experts from the field including Dr. Stacy Leigh Pigg, J D Lunt, and Promina Shrestha, starting from the initial idea to publication. Stacy L Pigg is an anthropologist turned graphic novelist. She is a professor at Simon Fraser University, Canada with over 30 years of research ties to Nepal. She uses storytelling as a way to explore the meanings of development-led change. J D Lunt is a cartoonist, editor, and educator specializing in non-fiction comics. He is a graduate of The Center For Cartoon Studies and is the cartoonist liaison for the Graphic Medicine International Collective. Promina S is a visual researcher, illustrator, and comic artist from Nepal.
This is a nonfiction graphic comics and graphic novel workshop, which has been specifically curated and designed, in two independent workshops, for writers and artists separately. Also, the workshop will have guest speakers, artists, and authors, who will talk about their work in non-fiction graphic comics.
The workshop will be held on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th of March, 2023 at Dhokhaima Cafe, Patan Dhoka, Nepal between 8 am to 1 pm. There are a limited number of seats for this workshop so you must register as early as possible.
Register here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
How Orijit Sen's 'River Of Stories' Has Blazed A Trail For Homegrown Graphic Novels
Meet The Homegrown Graphic Novel Artist Who Won The Coveted Eisner Award In 2021
A Homegrown Graphic Novel That Reimagines A World Of Dignity For Sanitation Workers