We all have to start somewhere, right? Join Portland’s kidlit graphic novelists Aron Nels Steinke, Breena Bard, Seaerra Miller, and Jonathan Hill as they travel back in time and share embarrassing photos, stories, and the art they made when they were younger. Authors will be available for Q&A and to sign books following the event.
This event at Floating World Comics is an official part of the Literary Arts Portland Book Festival Cover to Cover program, which expands the festival into a weeklong event, with programming all over Portland. Please visit pdxbookfest.org for more information and event details.
WHO: Aron Nels Steinke, Breena Bard, Seaerra Miller, and Jonathan Hill
WHAT: Awkward Stories & Art From Our Younger Selves presentation
WHEN: Wednesday November 1, 5:30pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 1223 Lloyd Center
Breena Bard is an Oregon Book Award-winning author/illustrator of comics for kids and kids at heart. Her middle grade graphic novels include Wildfire (Little, Brown Ink 2023) and Trespassers (Scholastic/Graphix, 2020) and she has self-published a number of comics, including Hey Baby (2016) a comic memoir about the birth of her son, and Picket Line (2011) her Xeric-Award winning debut about environmental protests in the Redwoods. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not working on books, Breena enjoys eating pizza, watching movies, playing the drums, and exploring the outdoors with her family.
Jonathan Hill is an award-winning cartoonist, illustrator, and educator. His work has appeared in The Believer Magazine, Fantagraphics, Powell’s City of Books, and the Society of Illustrators. His graphic novel, Odessa, was a finalist for the 2021 PNBA Book Awards and won the 2021 Believer Book Award for Graphic Literature. His latest book, Tales of a Seventh Grade Lizard Boy, was included on the ALA’s Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List for 2022 and has been named an Oregon Spirit Award Honor Book. Jonathan also serves on the board of directors for Literary Arts.
Seaerra Miller grew up in a small town in Wyoming where she spent her days picking dandelions and watching old westerns from her grandma’s small movie collection. In 2015 she moved to Portland, Oregon to study art at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Design. Since graduating in the spring of 2017 she has worked for several publications and organizations such as Cricket Media, Apartment Therapy, Oni Press, Willamette Week, and Snap Chat. She has illustrated Hilda companion novels to the Netflix series for Flying Eye and her own graphic novel series, Mason Mooney: Paranormal Investigator. Her debut middle-grade graphic novel, Out There, is out now!
Aron Nels Steinke is the Eisner Award-winning creator of the bestselling Mr. Wolf’s Class graphic novel series for kids (Graphix) and a former elementary school teacher. Aron lives in Portland, Oregon and regularly visits schools to speak about the awesome power of comics. Find him online at mrwolfsclass.com.
