Comic Book Day 2017 at Dagenham Library - Autobiographical Comic Workshop

How to book a free ticket for Comic Book Day at Dagenham Library (there is a link at the end of this post).

On September 23, from 2-5pm, I will be running a drop-in autobiographical comic workshop at Dagenham Library. It will be suitable for all ages and all abilities. The comic can take any form but my suggestion would be to make it about something that has happened that day - like an entry in a diary.

Part of a 24 hour comic I made a couple of years ago, it was created during the course of a day.

If you are interested in comics, zines or graphic novels it's fine to just drop by for a chat.

A couple of my zines will be on sale. I will also have information about the workshops I'll be running at Barking or Dagenham Library starting February 3 next year - 6 sessions that will lead to participant comics being published together in a book. Plus the lady in the photo, Catherine, will be with me - she is a character in a zine I'm working on at the moment.

Besides my workshop there will be a poet, comic book retailers, publishers and more.

For free tickets to Comic Book Day and more information please register on EventBrite or phone 020 8724 3942 or email LBBD. You can email me via the contact form on this blog if you have any questions.

Comic Book Day is part of LBBD's ReadFest 2017. Information about other ReadFest events is on EventBrite and available at LBBD libraries.

Comic making workshops for teenagers and adults at Barking Learning Centre, London

My poster for the workshops - feel free to print it off or share it.

From October 22 to November 26, on Saturdays from 11.30am to 1pm, I'll be leading a series of six workshops for teenagers and adults on the process of making comics.

Participants will be creating characters, storylines, worlds and scripts then they will make their own story in comic form. Beginners are welcome and you don't need to be good at drawing, I'll give you some tips to make the most of your skills. You might decide to make a comic strip, a zine or to start a graphic novel - the skills we'll be exploring apply to all formats of telling stories. If you need it you can have help coming up with a story idea. If you have created a comic before please feel free to bring it along.

We'll also be looking at the wide range of comics, zines and graphic novels already published. I'll bring along some from my own collection and will show the group books from the library.

The workshops are suitable for people who've never attempted to make a comic and/or with little experience of reading them. They are also suitable for those who've tried to make a comic and would like to develop their skills. This will also be an opportunity to meet people that share an interest in comics.

I'm an enthusiastic reader of comics, zines and graphic novels and occasionally write about some of my favourites on my Sequential Art blog. I started my creative career as a graphic designer then became a freelance illustrator and writer. I make comics such as Duck and Bear (a story about an illustrator and a writer). I am currently working on a graphic novel for adults based around the murder of my great grandmother and a commission for three illustrated stories which will be published in a book for children.

The workshops are free and materials will be supplied, if you'd like to come along please make sure to register at Eventbrite. The workshops are part of the LBBD Pen to Print festival. As mentioned before there are six workshops but you don't have to come to all of them or could try one and see how it goes.

If you have any questions you can contact the library by email or phone 020 8724 8722. You could also send a message to me via this blog or Twitter or Facebook (though do friend me first to make sure I receive it).

If you've missed the first couple of workshops but are interested in coming along to any of the others contact me one the links above. 

Comics Club for 9-12 year olds at Carnegie Library, South London

On Saturdays between 10am-11am, from October 10 to 21 November 2015 (excluding 7 November), I'll be running a series of six free Comics Club workshops in Carnegie Library for 9-12 year olds.

Comics Club at Carnegie Library SE24. Poster and workshops by Amanda Lillywhite.

I call the workshops a "club" because the participants will have the opportunity to read and talk about comics as well as make them. Each week I'll bring in a variety of graphic novels, zines and comics from my own collection suitable for their age group and they'll have access to the library's collection as well.

I'll also show them comics I've created and a graphic novel for kids that I'm working on. I'll take them through the process of making comics: how to create characters and stories, script, edit and make artwork. We'll also do some guided drawing and I'll give them some tips I've learnt during my years as an illustrator.

At each workshop they'll develop their own ideas for characters and storylines that will be brought together in a comic strip or a zine.

Wondering what to do while your child is in the workshops? Carnegie Library is a beautiful building with a great collection of books, free wifi, study space and a wildlife garden. Bloom Yoga is running drop in yoga sessions in the other meeting room in the library at the same time as Comics Club, they cost £10, mats are available and there is no need to book.

Comics Club is free but there is a limit of 10 participants. Please get in touch if you have a 9-12 year old interested in taking part in the workshops and I'll reserve a place for them. My contact details are on the poster above, you can also use my contact form or social media links.  If the dates or age group don't suit get in touch with me anyway if you'd like to be put on a mailing list to be kept updated about future workshops.