Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens

Are you like me? Clueless about graphic novels? Here are 15 resources to get us up to speed! THere are resources for writing, illustrating, reading, evaluating and submitting graphic novels.

How to Write Graphic Novels

• Sara Easterly (author) and Jaime Temairik (illustrator) in a 5-part series about graphic novels, talk about the whys and hows.
• 10-part series on writing comics and graphic novels by Dennis O’Neill. “He’s best known for writing Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman, through the seventies, Spider-Man in the eighties and for editing Batman-related titles in the nineties. ” See all the lessons listed here.
• Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel
  Review from ComicsBulletin.com
• 20-part series of Videos on Writing Comics and Graphic Novels from eHow. by Dan Head.
  
  Comic Books As A Visual Medium — powered by eHow.com

Reading Guides and Resources for and about Graphic Novels

• Great Graphic Novels for Teens. YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association arm of the American Library Association, has an annual list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens, recommended graphic novels and illustrated nonfiction for those ages 12-18, prepared yearly by YALSA.
• Top 10 Graphic Novels.
• A Graphic Literature Library.
• CCBC Graphic Novel Resources. A huge list of resources from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• School Library Journal articles on Graphic Novels.
• Graphic Novel Reporter. Reviews of new releases, interviews with authors, etc.
• The Horn Book articles on Graphic Novels.
• BroDart Resource List for Graphic Novels.

Who Publishes Graphic Novels? Looking for publishers to send your graphic novel?

• Search Graphic Novels by Publisher.
• Blog from First Second Books/Roaring Brook, a graphic novel imprint.

Online Class

David Seidman teaches how to write a graphic novel through MediaBistro.

Any other resources, classes, reading lists?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

UPDATE: See the 2009 List of Picture Book Topics to Avoid

Dial editor, Liz Waniewski (ONE–es-key) spoke at the Arkansas SCBWI 2007 conference. For a couple months before the conference, she kept track of her slush pile pb submissions by category. Here are the top 12 picturebook topics that she received–thus, the top 12 to avoid!

It’s not that these topics are taboo. Instead, they are so common that you must really rise above the competition to be accepted. Good examples of these topics are given, because we need to know our competition.

12 Picture Book Topics to Avoid

1. First Day at School 19 Girls and Me by Darcy Pattison. (Obviously–my book!)
2. Cleaning up your room Clean Your Room, Harvey Moon by Pat Cummings.
3. Tooth fairy The Bear’s Toothache by David McPhail. A Little Brown editor once commented that this book has been in print continuously for 20 years and is still a steady seller for them. She said she’d love to see books that address kid-friendly topics in such a unique way. NOT strictly a tooth fairy book, because the fairy is just implied at the end. Still–it’s a book about losing teeth and it’s competition if you write this kind of story.
4. Christmas/Halloween
5. Wanting a pet
6. Dealing with a disability (thus, message-driven)
7. “Hi! My name is. . . and I am (seven) years old!”
8. Visiting Grandma and Grandpa
9. New baby Favorites.
10. Barnyard stories (! She wasn’t sure why she was getting barnyard stories, but there they were! Rural nostalgia?) Farmer McPeeper and his Missing Milk Cows by Katy Duffield
11. Bedtime stories. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.
12. Personal hygiene. Everyone Poops (My Body Science Series) by Taro Gomi

NEW TOPICS ADDED IN 2009

1. Monsters acting un-monster-like
2. Going Green
3. “I Love You” stories. You are My I Love You by Maryann Cusimano
4. Boredom
5. Baby Bird Learning to Fly

ACTION POINTS

Look for books that would compete with the topic you want to write about. Compare your idea with what’s already out there: How does your book differ? What makes it unique? Why should someone choose your book over those on your competition list?

Order the Ebook

Now available:
A Fiction Notes Ebook, How to Write a Children’s Picture Book.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win