One Week, One Story: Comics Workshop
By Julie Perrin, Library Director, Jaffrey Public Library
October 21, 2017
One Week, One Story is a multi-event program that introduces teens to the process of creating their own comics. The purpose is to take the mystery out of the creative process and empower teens to cultivate their artistic skills with autonomy and confidence, providing the tools for them to continue to do so well beyond the end of the program. The week kicks off with an intensive comics workshop led by a professional graphic novelist and ends with the promise of a published anthology of participants' work. Throughout the week teens have the opportunity to collaborate on the editing process by attending daily social write-ins. Additionally, they may opt to attend an introductory workshop on graphics tablets and digital editing software, both of which may be used throughout the week for their own projects. At its best, this program includes community partnerships that extend its scope beyond library walls. This program was generously funded through a Teen Read Week grant supported by YALSA and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
Type: Active
Age: High school
Optimal size: 11-20
Estimated cost: $100+
Planning time: 5+ hours
Frequency: One-time
Learning outcomes
One Week, One Story harnesses the high-interest topic of graphic novels to spark interest in teens who might otherwise find the idea of crafting their own stories intimidating, carving out a space where teens feel comfortable freely exploring and creating. From a literacy standpoint the program specifically focuses on three areas: textual, visual, and digital literacy. Graphic novels require decoding of both text and image, and the act of creating their own requires teens to develop a heightened understanding of how the two combine. Adding the technological component provides opportunity for simultaneously improving digital literacy and expanding teens’ knowledge of the tools available for creative output. Finally, as a side product of the entire process, this program encourages teens to think about the kinds of commercial systems that dictate creative work and how artists are linked to that larger system.
Instructions
The lead-up to One Week, One Story required considerable planning and community partnership. Following is a breakdown of the major considerations:
- Find a professional graphic novelist with experience teaching teens who is willing to adapt a program to your institution's needs. Marek Bennett brought considerable experience working with schools and libraries and gave us his own valuable feedback in adapting the program as we discussed our goals and aims.
- Partner with a local business willing to take on the financial logistics of publishing. Escape Hatch Books is an independent bookstore in our community that is also very supportive of wider literacy . Since they just started their own publishing venture they were very enthusiastic to partner. Once the teens' anthology comes to press, they will hold a book release party at their business and give all participants copies.
- Choose the digital drawing technology that best suits your needs. We chose to buy two Huion H610 Pro drawing tablets for about $80 each, as well as three copies of CLIP Studio Paint PRO editing software to install on our PCs. We also downloaded copies of open source editing software--Inkscape and Gimp--to offer a variety of both vector and raster graphics editing options. Plan to acquire any new technology you purchase as far out from the start of your program as possible as it can take quite a bit of practice to become comfortable with initially.
- Determine your funding sources and obtain program sponsors. With the exception of the publishing costs and a generous donation of pizza by local pizzeria Pizza Pie, the Teen Read Activity Grant funded our entire program. In addition to the presenter and technology costs, we spent funds on building our graphic novel collection and buying drawing pads and pencils to give to each participant. In future, inking supplies and erasers would also be added to that supply list.
- Plan to market the program as broadly as possible. In addition to the usual library website, posters, newspapers, and social media, we reached out to the local high school media specialist. She generously set aside time to meet, hear about the program, and help create a plan to promote it within her school. She gamely put up posters, announced it over the school PR, and invited me in the week before the program kicked off for a half-hour tech talk about the drawing tablets. Many of our participants registered thanks to her efforts.
We required registration for the 3-hour Comics Workshop with Marek Bennett on Monday, but all other events were optional drop-in events. Tuesday through Friday we offered 2-hour social write-in times with refreshments for teens to collaborate on their projects. A staff member was present in the general area to offer advice if asked, show interest, and answer any questions, but constant oversight was not necessary. Teens were usually quite enthusiastic to share their work, but didn't require a lot of staff feedback. Also offered on Tuesday was a 1-hour introductory workshop on how to use the drawing tablets and editing software. This workshop, or a one-on-one appointment to learn its contents from a staff member, were mandatory in order to check out the tablets for in-library use. Finally, Saturday we hosted a 1-hour wrap-up party and open reception. This was a chance for teens to show off their work to the public, and it was also the deadline for submissions to the anthology. We did offer extensions into the second week for one or two teens who were very close to finished with their stories.
Evaluation
We measured the impact of One Week, One Story through a study of pre and post activities that reflect teen growth in textual, visual and technological literacy, before, during and after Teen Read Week. We tracked attendance at the professional workshop with Marek Bennett, the technology and creative workshops, and the events hosted by our community partner, Escape Hatch Books. We will be able to track long-term impact through data collection on the use of the equipment and circulation data on the graphic novel collection. Finally, we will also review the impact on teen use of the library overall, and whether the program leads to new sign-ups for teen library cards.
Other resources
Build Your Own 8-Page Mini Comic
Marek Bennett Printables & Free Stuff
Marek Bennett's Recommended Reading
YALSA's Great Graphic Novels
No Flying No Tights