Last weekend Jonathan Cape Graphic Novels exhibited at our very first comics fair.



After setting up our heaving table in the grand Bishopsgate Hall with all sorts of lovely graphic novel goodies,



we were joined by an illustrious line-up of some of our finest comic creators including Simone Lia, Hannah Berry, Julian Hanshaw, Sarah Leavitt, Nick Hayes and William Goldsmith. 
 
The uber talented Posy Simmonds had the honour of kicking-off the whole day by starting the drawing parade.



A huge screen projected onto the wall as she drew some of her most recognisable creations. It was fascinating to see how she can turn a blank piece of paper into something so full of personality and familiarity quite so quickly. Another immensely popular artist taking part in the drawing parade was Brecht Evens (The Wrong Place)

 

who had travelled all the way from Belgium and in just over half an hour created a whole watercolour mise en scene of impossible beauty. 



Julian Hanshaw and William Goldsmith had a go on our wobbly easel at a drawing conversation.



We may well run a competition for you to win the results of that endeavour.



The Cape team also brought along a couple of IPads so we could show off Shorties! The Best of the Graphic Short Story Prize to anyone who stopped by our stand.



So we were delighted to actually meet at comiket Isabel Greenberg who won this year’s prize and Stephen Collins who won last year. We are already very excited about publishing Stephen’s book THE GIGANTIC BEARD THAT WAS EVIL in 2013. Don’t forget you can see the winners from this year in the flesh in the café at Foyles, charing Cross Road until December.
 
It was great to meet so many other people in the comics industry and also the people who buy our books. We enjoyed it so much in fact we hope to get out in 2012 and do a bit of a comics convention tour. We just wish we were at Thought Bubble right now….


Hannah Ross, Senior Publicity Manager at Jonathan Cape and The Bodley Head