APPEARANCES

Teaching comic storytelling at a library in Louisville

Josh learned to read at age four after his mother lost her voice whilst halfway through reading him the latest issue of the Transformers comic book series. This was completely unacceptable. Optimus Prime, leader of the heroic Autobots, was in a lot of danger and Josh had to make sure he was going to be all right. Josh used the images to figure out the story and dutifully looked up every word in the text that he didn’t already know. Within a week, he was reading, and comics have been his constant literary companions ever since. Now he travels all over the country talking about the value of comics as an artform, as a teaching tool and as a way to change lives for the better.

Josh’s events fall into three general categories: workshops, lectures, and professional development. The workshops are aimed at groups of up to 60 and consist of a lecture on what comics are, how they’re made and why they’re awesome followed by a Q&A session and hands-on, how-to instruction on creating comics. The lectures are used for larger groups (in the hundreds) of kids, teens and/or adults, with the content tailored to fit the needs of the specific audience. The professional development includes setting up teacher/librarian symposiums on graphic novels, speaking on informational panels at conferences and seminars and working directly with teachers and librarians to help develop comic-centric programming and curriculum.

Josh has spoken to classrooms of a dozen or so students and in auditoriums of over 350. He’s worked with children as young as five and with grandparents in their seventies. He’s been a guest lecturer at Northwestern University, Grinnell College and the Illinois Institute of Art. He’s hosted events for all ages at libraries in Boston, Chicago, New York City and St. Louis. He’s been a guest of honor at literary festivals in Charleston, North Carolina and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He’s served as a consultant to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and done professional development for the New York Public School system, the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Illinois State Library Association and DePaul University. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Reading With Pictures, a (pending) non-profit organization affiliated with Northwestern University and Diamond Comic Distributors dedicated to promoting the use of comics in the classroom.

The reason that these otherwise respectable organizations and institutions would be willing to pay actual hard currency for this dubious honor remains unknown. Most experts believe it to be a unique form of mass hysteria, though others attribute it to his expertise in the subject matter, engaging speaking style and inspirational life story. While a small but vocal minority (actually, it’s pretty much just Josh himself) believe it’s due to his rakish charm and rugged good looks.

The prices listed below represent his standard fees, but he’s always willing to negotiate in order to accommodate smaller organizations and venues just so long as he gets to spread the good news that is comics. Booking multiple events at once (such as visiting several schools in the same district or multiple libraries within the same system or several visits to the same venue) allows for a bulk rate discount.

Josh can be reached via email at elder1938@gmail.com or by phone at 913.660.6029.

Posing before the Mail Order Ninja exhibit at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

FEES

Single Workshop/Lecture:  $300 (Chicago Area) $400 + Expenses (Everywhere Else)

All-Day Event:  $700 (Chicago Area) $900 + Expenses (Everywhere Else)

Consultation/Development:  $500 per day + Expenses