PR: Small Press Expo Announces Paul Karasik and Jeff Lemire as Guests for SPX 2009

Small Press Expo Announces Paul Karasik and Jeff Lemire as Guests for SPX 2009  For Immediate Release                                   Contact: Warren Bernard                         E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com  Bethesda, Maryland; August 31, 2009 - The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to announce Paul Karasik and Jeff Lemire as guests for SPX 2009.  Paul Karasik is a contributor to both The New Yorker and Nickelodeon magazine. He is the former associate editor of the ground breaking RAW Magazine and a former teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design.  As a graduate of the School of Visual Design, he studied with Art Spiegelman, Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman. He was the co-creator of the graphic novel "City of Glass", in collaboration with David Mazzucchelli. Paul's critically acclaimed "I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets" on the works of Fletcher Hanks won the 2008 Eisner Award for the category Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books. His latest book is another collection of the works of Fletcher Hanks "You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation!" published by Fantagraphics Books.     Jeff Lemire won a Xeric Award in 2005 for his book "Lost Dogs." Between 2007 and 2009 Top Shelf Productions published his Ignatz, Harvey, and Eisner-nominated "Essex County Trilogy" of graphic novels "Tales From the Farm," "Ghost Stories," and "The Country Nurse". They were collected into a single volume and issued earlier this year by Top Shelf as "The Complete Essex County". Jeff has won the 2008 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist, the 2008 Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent, and the 2008 American Library Association's Alex Award (For Adult Books with Teen Appeal.) This year also saw the release of his original graphic novel "The Nobody" from DC/Vertigo. Jeff is currently writing and drawing the new monthly Vertigo series "Sweet Tooth," which will begin in September.  Paul Karasik and Jeff Lemire are in addition to the previously announced guests Carol Tyler and Josh Neufeld.  SPX will be held Saturday, September 26 from 11AM to 7PM and Sunday, September 27, noon-6PM at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $10 for a single day and $15 for both days.  For further information on the Ignatz Awards, the nominees or to request an interview, please contact Warren Bernard at warren@spxpo.com.  For more information on the Small Press Expo and the Ignatz Awards, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.