Dr. Michael Bitz
Dr. Michael Bitz, EdD, is the executive director of the Center for Educational Pathways (www.edpath.org), a nonprofit organization that establishes creative pathways to academic success for underserved youth. An internationally recognized innovator in education, Dr. Bitz has worked to establish creativity at the core of academic learning, and he has done so for some of the most vulnerable children in the United States and around the world. His unique arts-based literacy projects—the Comic Book Project and Youth Music Exchange—have impacted over 100,000 underserved youths and have been featured by the Washington Post, New York Times, National Public Radio, Associated Press, and many other media. He is the first recipient of the Educational Entrepreneurship Fellowship at the Mind Trust in Indianapolis, and he received the Distinguished Alumni Early Career Award from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr Bitz is the author of two books: Manga High: Literacy, Identity, and Coming of Age in an Urban High School (Harvard Education Press) and When Commas Meet Kryptonite: Classroom Lessons from the Comic Book Project (Teachers College Press). Dr. Bitz is an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at Ramapo College in New Jersey, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.
James Bucky Carter, Ph.D.
James Bucky Carter, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of English Education at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he focuses on the intersections of comics and literacy. He has edited two collections, Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels, and Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels: Page by Page, Panel by Panel, which is an NCTE best-seller and won the first-ever “Excellence in Graphica in Education” award. He is the co-author of Super-Powered Word Study: Teaching Words and Word Parts Through Comics and has written many book chapters and articles comics’ pedagogical potentials. He speaks to local, national and international audiences on the subject and is a lifelong comics reader.
Jay Hosler
Jay Hosler is the author an
d illustrator of science-oriented comics. He is best known for his graphic novels Clan Apis, The Sandwalk Adventures, Optical Allusions, and Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth. Clan Apis follows the life of a honey bee named Nyuki; the story conveys factual information about honey bees in a humorous fashion as Nyuki learns about each new stage of her life. The Sandwalk Adventures follows a conversation about evolution between Charles Darwin and a follicle mite living in his left eyebrow. Optical Allusions explains the evolution of the eye and vision by following the story of Wrinkles the Wonderbrain. Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth which takes a new and full approach to the subject of biological development. Hosler is also an entomologist and associate professor of biology at Juniata College. Visit his website at www.jayhosler.com.
Nancy Silberkleit
Nancy Silberkleit is the co-CEO of Archie Comics and wife of the late Michael Silberkleit. Michael was the son of Archie Comics founder,Louis Silberkleit who,with his partner John L.Goldwater founded Archie Comics in 1942. She taught art for over 20 years in the New Jersey public school system and has seen the power of comics to encourage literacy and creativity in children. Children love to read comic books and graphic novels and often endeavor to mimic the format with their own creations. Comics teach children about storytelling and exploring their artistic abilities through illustration. It is a natural progression for children, serving as a bridge to reading from the picture books of their younger years. She created The Comic Book Fairs (comicbookfairs.com) to stimulate literacy and promote creativity by offering budding readers the opportunity to interact with comic books and graphic novels as well as assist schools in funding educational programs through the sale of comic books. Not only does she see comics as another genre to our choices in literacy but a powerful tool to stimulate and build today’s children into strong creative thinkers that are prepared to approach complex situations. Every child is capable of becoming a Superman or Superwomen and making a powerful contribution to society. To attain that, children need to be proficient in reading.
“Comic Books + Children = Reading” – Nancy Silberkleit
Barbara Slate
Cartoonist and author Barbara Slate most recently wrote You Can Do a Graphic Novel. Published in 2010 by Alpha Books (Pearson, Ed), it quickly became one of the imprint’s best selling titles (A FREE teacher’s guide is available for classroom use). After he read the book, Stan Lee described Barbara as “titanically talented.” Her big break in comics came when she created Angel Love for DC Comics. From there, she created, wrote, and drew Yuppies from Hell, and Sweet XVI for Marvel Comics and put her own spin on the Disney classics Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontis, Archie Comics’ Betty and Veronica, and Mattel’s Barbie. Barbara has written more than 300 stories for the comic book industry. Her original art has been exhibited in many galleries and museums, and has been reviewed by the New York Times. She is profiled in the seminal work A Century of Women Cartoonists. Barbara is currently busy being a mom, finishing a graphic novel entitled I Got Married and Other Mistakes, and flying around the country giving graphic novel workshops to students and teachers. Visit her websites www.barbaraslate.com and www.youcandoagraphicnovel.com.
Raina Telgemeier
Raina Telgemeier is the adapter and illustrator of the Baby-sitters Club graphic novel series (Scholastic/Graphix), which were selected by YALSA for their Great Graphic Novels for Teens list in 2007, as well as ALA’s Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth list.
She is the co-author of the recently-released X-Men: Misfits (Del Rey Manga), which debuted at #6 on the New York Times’ Graphic Books Bestseller list.
Her graphic memoir, Smile, was published by Scholastic/Graphix in February, 2010. It has been named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, as well as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book.
Raina’s comics have been nominated for the Ignatz, Cybil, and Eisner Awards, and have appeared in publications by Random House, DC Comics, and Nickelodeon Magazine.
A graduate of Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts, Raina currently resides in Astoria, NY, with her husband and fellow cartoonist, Dave Roman.
Visit her online at www.goraina.com.
Tracy White
Tracy White lives, writes, draws, and eats dark chocolate in New York City. Her first book How I Made it to Eighteen (Roaring Brook Press, 2010) is on YALSA¹s Great Graphic Novel for Teens list as well as ALA¹s list of recommended graphic novels for teens in 2011.
Tracy’s online comic, TRACED has been nominated twice for an Ignatz for best online comic.
Find out more than you may want to know about here at http://www.traced.com.