Whether you are new to JJK's classes or a seasoned returnee—this program is for everyone! A group of young cartoonists will meet with New York Times-bestselling graphic novelist Jarrett J. Krosoczka for an hour every day for a week to collaborate on a comic! Along the way, Jarrett will be offering off-hand advice to guide students on growing their cartooning skills! Jarrett will instill the importance of give-and-take when it comes to making creative decisions. Students will have the chance to vote on story direction using Zoom Webinar's polling feature, Zoom chat, and on-camera conversations! This camp is limited to 20 students with a required minimum of 10 students to run.
We are trying these at different times throughout the summer. While it is a bit of an experiment, timing-wise, we are using what we have learned over the past year in running these Zoom classes. We are hoping this gives kids the flexibility to be both engaged and with enough open time in the day to be outdoors.
I have been having an absolute blast with my weekly art courses. They are a highlight of my week! They very much remind me of the classes that I took as a young artist—an opportunity to commune with like-minded peers, hone craft, and learn from one another! I am releasing the schedule for my spring 2021 classes below. Hope you can join us!
Weekly one-hour meetings and tutorials from New York Times-bestselling author Jarrett J. Krosoczka! This program will run for eight sessions, PLUS students will upload their comics and work to a Google Classroom in-between meetings so that Jarrett and peers can offer encouragement!
In this course, Jarrett builds community amongst cartoonist peers, gives weekly lessons, and assigns work that builds on itself to lead students to understand the creative process of writing and illustrating their own graphic novels.
These classes happen over Zoom Webinar. Students may elect to participate in a number of ways including voice only, voice and camera, the chat function, the Q&A portal, polls, and uploading work via Google Classroom. It is 100% up to their comfort level. Each course is limited to twenty students.
"My son created a portfolio of pages and pages of drawings that clearly demonstrated his progress and passion for art. He is now a budding cartoonist with a new interest to occupy his time at home." —Michelle, parent in Massachusetts
"It was really nice to be able to get advice straight from someone who's been doing this for so long - there were a lot of small throw-outs that we got from this that wouldn't be in something like a book; they have to come from someone who's been doing this for years."
—Parent
"Since the lockdown began, and my children’s world abruptly contracted, new role models emerged and filled the gaps. Jarrett Krosoczka is one of those creative heroes that we have relied on to get us through this time." — Chelsea, parent in Massachusetts
Lunch Lady in full color! Plus, larger trim size and higher page count for bigger adventures! Before LL #11 hits bookshelves, get caught up with the 2-for-1 Special editions coming from
Not only are the Lunch Lady graphic novels getting reissued in full color, but they are also getting adapted as audiobooks! I’ll be co-producing, and I am so excited for the creative potential we are about to unlock!
While I long for the energy of students filling up auditoriums, there has been so much about virtual author visits that have proven advantageous to the experience.
1) Because I use Zoom Webinar, students can ask questions anonymously without fear of speaking in front of their peers. I have been getting many profound queries this way from students who have walked a similar path with an addicted parent.
2) Students are coming to my space, so I can show them things that I would never carry with me when I travel—original art, my childhood copy of The Mouse and the Motorcycle, a dog or two...
3) When I give drawing demonstrations, instead of seeing a pad of paper on an easel from across a crowded auditorium, each student is there standing over my shoulder watching me draw via the overhead shot. In fact, the view is even closer than that—their noses would be just inches from my pencil.
4) These are super easy to schedule! I have been visiting every K-12 school in one district, and they have been spread out over a few weeks at times that are convenient to the schools. I’d never be able to travel back and forth like that!
Note that pencil case. It used to hold all of my chargers and dongles when I went into schools. Now I use it to organize all of the adapters that I need to power my virtual setup.
“Today is going to be the best day ever” can still ring true.
And just with my in-person visits, Authors Unbound Agency has been a saving grace and incredible partner in scheduling all of these events. We actually send the lectures out to schools ahead of time, so the entire Zoom session is filled with rapid-fire questions and connections with students. It has been remarkable.
Krosoczka decided on a 10-episode series, featuring artists like Raina Telgemeier, Jerry Craft, RaΓΊl the Third, Gene Luen Yang, Mike Curato, Lucy Knisley, Maia Kobabe, Ngozi Ukazu, and Robin Ha, with each episode including a roughly 20-minute interview, then a 10-minute readers’ theater featuring the guest’s work. “This is longform, somewhere between Jimmy Fallon and Terry Gross,” Krosoczka said.
We are excited to offer a weekly comics clubs for kids and young adults!
Weekly fifty-minute meetings and tutorials from New York Times-bestselling author Jarrett J. Krosoczka! This program will run for eight sessions PLUS students will upload their comics and work to a Google Classroom in-between meetings so that Jarrett and peers can offer encouragement!
Krosoczka will share his personal story with a national audience at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT Sept. 17 as part of the Storytellers Project’s virtual show, “School Stories,” a benefit for No Kid Hungry. The Storytellers Project, part of the USA TODAY Network, produces shows in 20 cities across the United States, but pivoted to virtual shows in April because of stay-at-home orders.
Because of the pandemic, this year, one in four students are expected to face food insecurity, up from one in seven last year, according to No Kid Hungry.