Just for you! Color options: Grape (-alicious!) or Endpaper Gold.

iPhone 5  1136 x 640:
Grape Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen
Gold   Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen

Windows Phone & Android 480 x 800:
Grape Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen
Gold   Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen

Android 720 x 1280:
Grape Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen
Gold   Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen

iPhone 4 and older:
Grape Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen
Gold   Lockscreen  ||  Homescreen

End of tour, marked with a bang! The Stranger publishes the first excerpt: Chapter 1, starting on the cover. Note: this is my thirteenth Stranger cover, after these and this.

As I have been behind in my posts, I see I haven’t mentioned that in September, the Stranger honored me with a Genius Award in Literature. A million thanks to the Stranger, for support and encouragement for… for my whole career, really.

On Nov. 6, Jake and I had a champagne toast, celebrating my book release. Since then, I’ve been giving readings/presentations on my book tour, talking about Marbles and meeting people, it’s been amazing.

Some highlights: well, Marbles is a NY Times bestseller. I’m on Morning Edition today. (Also archived.) The review in the LA Times emphasizes that the search for personal identity is universal. Entertainment Weekly gave it an “A.” Thumbs-ups from Time Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Magazine, and NPR’s book reviews. More radio interviews on KUOW and Oregon Public Broadcasting. Exciting!

I’m in SF, on the last leg of my book tour. Jet lagged but happy! Here are the rest of my tour dates:

Monday, Nov. 26, San Francisco - Booksmith, 7:00pm - 1644 Haight Street

Tuesday, Nov. 27, San Francisco –  Cartoon Art Museum, 7:00pm - 655 Mission Street

Thursday, Nov. 29, Seattle - Elliott Bay Books, 7:00pm - 1521 Tenth Avenue

Below: My agent had a bottle of champagne delivered to me after Marbles hit the NY Times bestseller list (that night!! Thank you, Holly!).

So nice to be working out the little details! A few days ago, I got some test pages from Gotham so I could check the brightness of the paper and the darkness of the ink. I’m a geek, I love that stuff. Here’s a run-down of recent Marbles-related news and reviews:

Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me

A graphic memoir by Ellen Forney

Gotham Books (A member of Penguin Group USA Inc.), 256 pages (yeah, that’s right, yo! I think my previous record was like, 4). Release date: Nov. 6, 2012

Official website:  marblesbyellenforney.com (designed by Jake. It formats itself differently depending on what gadget you are using. Fancy!)

I just got a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly:

“Witty and insightful . . . Beginning with the manic episode that led to her diagnosis, Forney chronicles her journey toward reconciling the dual natures of bipolar disorder: a dangerous disease, but also a source of inspiration for many artists. The long journey of medication and therapy is kept from gloom by Forney’s lively, likable cartooning. . . Readers struggling with their own mania or depression will find Forney good company, and others searching for insight into the minds of troubled artists will find Forney an engaging storyteller.” Full review here.

and a starred review from Kirkus Reviews:

“For anyone who loves graphic memoir or has concerns about bipolar swings, creativity and medication, this narrative will prove as engaging and informative as it is inspirational. . . Not only does [Forney's] conversational intimacy draw readers in, but her drawings perfectly capture the exhilarating frenzy of mania and the dark void of depression.” Full review here.

I was honored with a Stranger Genius nomination for literature, and Marbles was chosen as one of BookExpo America’s “Hottest Graphic Novels of 2012” and as one of Publisher’s Weekly‘s “Top Ten Comics & Graphic Novels of Fall 2012“:

“Ellen Forney’s Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me: A Graphic Memoir is a funny yet harrowing account of her battles with bipolar disorder, from her diagnosis to various trials with medication, as she struggles to get her life in order while maintaining the creative flow she fears may be tied up with her illness. Forney’s perceptive, lively art keeps the story fresh.”

Keep an eye out for my events in November! And, exciting: the launch will be Sat., Nov. 10 at 7pm in the Microsoft Auditorium (yay!) at the Central Library downtown.

Teen cartoonists, and parents of teen cartoonists! Time to sign up for summer comics classes at Cornish! Fun! Plus, several students in my current classes at Cornish were students at my summer classes at Cornish, just sayin’.

Comics Studio

Ellen Forney

July 9 – 27, M W, 1:00pm – 4:00pm

Ages 15 – 18

Create your own comics! Students will learn basic skills including writing, drawing, crafting stories, developing characters, lettering, and page design.

Scholarships are available. Housing is available. Questions: summer@cornish.edu (206)726-5148

Lots to report but I’ll keep it brief!

ART SHOW: Tomorrow, Sat., 2/11: Funny Valentines Art Show at Fantagraphics Bookstore in Georgetown, 6-9pm. It’s a group show featuring work by Jack Davis and a couple dozen other artists and cartoonists including me, Art Chantry, Jim Woodring, Peter Bagge, and more.

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE: I’m honored to have been invited to be a Master Artist-In-Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, Oct. 8-28. Come study comics with me for a few weeks at a beautiful arts facility a few minutes from the beach! Apply here.

ART FESTIVAL JUROR: I am one of five jurors for the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, June 16-24 (along with Dan Savage and Mistress Matisse). Submit art now! Early bird submissions before Feb. 15, submissions accepted until March 10. Here and here are some of my own pieces from previous years.

PANELIST: I’ll be at the Emerald City ComiCon, March 30 – April 1, on a panel organized by Fantagraphics, about Seattle’s role as the “city that gave birth and momentum to the alternative comix movement.” (Panel time and date TBA.)

And!! GRAPHIC NOVEL: I am at long last sending in my files for my graphic novel. Hooray! Hooray! This is unbelievably exciting for me. More excitement to come! The book is due out from Penguin in September.

I’m doing two college visits next week, on Oct. 12 at Montgomery College, and October 13 at Towson University: workshops and my presentation about how comics are amazing. I just brought a travel mug/ french press for the occasion, and it has the unfortunate slogan on the side, “GIVE UP BAD COFFEE FOR GOOD!” It was the only one I could find, so I’ll have to either finish my first cup of the day in my hotel room, or give in to looking like a total Seattle coffee snob dork.

I was honored to contribute to this comic book, benefitting the kids of Joplin, Missouri:

Comics Express is a limited-edition comic book conceived by Carmen Morais (a former editor at Nickelodeon Magazine) to benefit kids affected by the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, which destroyed 30% of the city and made thousands homeless. She assembled a bunch of award-winning comic artists and former colleagues from Nickelodeon to donate the content and labor. The comic book will give young kids up to teens something more fun to think about than damaged neighborhoods and uprooted lives. The Joplin Public Library will coordinate with local groups to distribute the comic books to kids free in July.

This went great, and the local media in Joplin ran a story about it. It made me happy to actually see kids reading the comic I did, “How to Draw Eye-Catching, On-the-Nose, Loud-Mouth Cartoon Faces!!” – I hope some of them tried it!:

I had an awesome bunch of budding cartoonists in my classes at Cornish this summer. The Session 2 class’s final minicomics and original work will be on display today between 2:00pm – 7:00pm on the Cornish campus, in a big performance/exhibit extravaganza of all the summer classes. Every year, I am blown away by their work. You will be like, wow, these are teens?

My fabulous class with their minicomics in front of their final exhibit:

Here’s the schedule online and after the jump.

[Read more →]

Hey! The Seattle Weekly just came out with their 2011 “Best of Seattle” awards, and they voted me “Best Local Cartoonist.” With many nods of respect to the many excellent cartoonists in town, thank you, Seattle Weekly!