The MFA in Creative Writing Program at Manhattanville College aims to become a hub for graphic narrative and novel instruction, starting with its graphic novel writing workshops to be held on Saturday, March 24 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. These workshops are targeted at aspiring youth and adult graphic novelists.
The adult workshop features instruction by Paul Levitz, past president of DC Comics and Manhattanville College MFA program adjunct professor, and will apply an advanced look at story construction, emphasizing character and story. Barbara Slate, author of “You Can Do a Graphic Novel,” will teach a youth workshop for ages 10 to 18 focusing on the mixing of drawings and words. Artistic ability is not a requirement for participants nor are supplies or drawing talent needed.
A special guest keynote presentation will be made by Colleen Doran, whose graphic novel adaptation of the Neil Gaiman story, “Troll Bridge,” became a New York Times bestseller. Doran’s talk at 1 p.m. is free and open to the public.
“There’s a real need for advanced educational programs to support the creative growth of the graphic novel field, and I hope that Manhattanville’s MFA program can provide a good home for one, taking advantage of the New York area comics community as a resource and integrating them into their long-standing literary programs,” Levitz said.
“These workshops are a great entryway for someone to introduce themselves to the mechanics of graphic narrative and novels,” said Lori Soderlind, director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Manhattanville College, who is spearheading the program’s graphic novel instruction. “When word and image are combined, we have a new narrative that takes the reader on a completely different journey. We are seeing steady demand for these programs and have brought leaders in the graphic novel space to Manhattanville for this workshop, our summer writers week program, and plan to introduce year-round graphic novel instruction.”
Registration for each day-long workshop is $75 and includes a brown bag lunch. To register and for more information, visit mville.edu.
