SPX is honored that a sitting member of Congress will be attending the show. Congressman Lewis will be promoting his first graphic novel, March (Book One), published by Top Shelf Productions. The book was co-written with Andrew Aydin and drawn by the award-winning graphic novelist Nate Powell.
For more information on the book (the first in a planned trilogy), visit Topshelfcomix.com.

John Lewis, American Icon

John Lewis is the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s fifth congressional district and an American icon widely known for his role in the civil rights movement. He first joined the movement as a seminary student in Nashville, organizing sit-ins and participating in the first Freedom Rides, which challenged illegal segregation at bus stations across the South. He soon became the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and one of the “Big Six” national leaders of the movement, alongside such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr. and A. Philip Randolph.

As SNCC chairman, Lewis was an architect of, and the youngest featured speaker, at the historic 1963 March on Washington, and was a key figure in the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer. Together with Hosea Williams, he led the landmark 1965 Selma–Montgomery March (known as “Bloody Sunday”), where police brutality spurred national outrage and hastened passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Despite physical attacks, serious injuries, and more than 40 arrests, John Lewis has remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of non-violence. His subsequent career has included voter registration activism, service on the Atlanta City Council, and over 25 years in Congress.

Lewis was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011, and was the first recipient of the John F. Kennedy “Profile in Courage” Lifetime Achievement Award. His 1998 book Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, called “the definitive account of the civil rights movement” (The Washington Post), won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy, Lillian Smith, and Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. His most recent book, Across that Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change, received the NAACP Image Award.

About SPX

Small Press Expo (SPX) is the pre-eminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit that brings together more than 400 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The festival will also feature a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year’s guests.

The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org.

SPX also supports the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress, which preserves the history of both the artistic output of the creators who come to SPX, as well as the art that SPX itself generates as part of its yearly festival. It the first program of its type by a major institution in the United States to preserve the works of the indie comics community.

This is a slight delay from our projected March 1st launch date for the new SPX online registration system.

We’re just taking a few extra days to work out the last few bugs.  Over the next week, we’ll be releasing a run down on how the system will work as well as screenshots so there will be no surprises on the big day.

Small Press Expo 2013 is certain to be a great show, in no small part due to our wonderful exhibitors who represent the absolute best and brightest in independent comics.

Can’t wait to see you all there!

]]> http://www.spxpo.com/spx-2012-floor-plan-available-now/feed 0 http://www.spxpo.com/spx-announces-francoise-mouly-and-adrian-tomine-as-guests-for-2012 http://www.spxpo.com/spx-announces-francoise-mouly-and-adrian-tomine-as-guests-for-2012#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:14:43 +0000 Kevin Panetta http://www.spxpo.com/?p=1787 Small Press Expo is pleased to announce Françoise Mouly and Adrian Tomine as honored guests of SPX 2012.  Both Mouly and Tomine will be making their first SPX appearances this year and are in addition to the previously announced guests Chris Ware, Dan Clowes and Jamie & Gilbert Hernandez.

There are more than 360 incredible cartoonists and publishers attending SPX in 2012, along with the already announced special guests: Chris Ware, Dan Clowes and the Hernandez Brothers. We have a lot to do between now and September. We’re aiming to knock your socks off.

I know there are some disappointed folks out there who were not able to secure a table for this year. I wish we had infinite space to accommodate you all. Whether you did or didn’t get a table this year, let me say on behalf of everyone at the Small Press Expo: THANK YOU.

Thank you for supporting this show and making the event what it is. In turn, we exist only to support your work – to see that your creative product is promoted to new audiences, protected from censorship and preserved for posterity.

The hardest part about producing SPX each year is not being able to accommodate all of the awesome talented folks who would like to exhibit at the show. Even with our largest show floor ever we’ve sold through all of our available table space in record time.

Thank you to everyone for your support and enthusiasm for the show.  We are so very aware that without you there would be no SPX and everything we do in preparation for our annual festival is in the interest of providing you with the best experience possible.

If you have submitted your registration information already, please continue to check the 2012 Exhibitors page. We’ll be updating the list of confirmed names between now and March 1st. By that date we should have a complete list posted and also have the waiting list sorted out.

Thank you all for your patience while we nail this stuff down.

For folks who aren’t likely to make the wait list, just as a reminder, we will be selling additional Exhibitor badges.  If you can find folks to share space with who do have their tables confirmed you can grab an extra badge come show time for $10.

If you have any questions whatsoever about your registration form please send a note to: exhibitors@spxpo.com.

Thanks again – we’re looking forward to seeing everyone in September!

We are locked and loaded for SPX 2012, to be held September 15 and 16 2012, at our favorite place, the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.

The registration form is now available and tables are being sold, first come, first serve.

Tables rates and ordering information are all in the registration form.Do not forget to order additional badges if your table is being shared by more than 2 people.