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Cartoonist and graphic novel author Craig Thompson will discuss his award-winning work during a NW Authors Series presentation at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. The hybrid program will be offered in person at the Cannon Beach Library and online, available on the library’s website, at cannonbeachlibrary.org. Thompson illustrated and wrote the multiple award-winning autobiography, Blankets, which was named Time Magazine’s No. 1 graphic novel in 2003. Published in 20 languages, the memoir tells the story of a young man finding a first love and emerging from a rigorous fundamentalist Christian childhood with the confidence to express his own voice. The Guardian newspaper said of Blankets: “Quaint, meditative and sometimes dreamy, Blankets will take you straight back to your first kiss.” Thompson’s later books, Carnet de Voyage, Habibi and Space Dumplins, also were award winners. The artwork he created for the Menomena album Friend and Foe received a Grammy nomination for best recording package. Thompson was born in Michigan in 1975, and grew up in a rural farming community in central Wisconsin. As a child, he enjoyed the Sunday newspaper comics and comic books. He drew a comic strip for the college newspaper while attending the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County. In 1997, Thompson moved to Portland, where he worked for Dark Horse Comics until he turned his attention to his own work. His first graphic novel was the semi-autobiographic Good-bye, Chunky Rice, which also won several awards. The NW Authors Series hosts Pacific Northwest authors from September through May. The committee also sponsors the Writers Read Celebration, featuring writers who read original stories, essays, poems, etc. on a specific theme. The next Writers Read Celebration will be on March 22.
