OCTOBER 8 – 28, 2012
Residency #147
Graphic Novel Residency
Application Deadline: May 18, 2012

JOSH NEUFELD, nonfiction cartoonist

Josh Neufeld (born in 1967 in New York City) is a cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics as well as his collaborations with writers such as Brooke Gladstone and Harvey Pekar.

He is the writer/artist of the New York Times-bestselling nonfiction graphic novel A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge (2009). In addition, he is the illustrator of the New York Times-bestselling graphic nonfiction book The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media (2011). He was awarded a publishing grant from the Xeric Foundation in 2004 for his first book, A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories from Southeast Asia & Central Europe).

In 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Neufeld spent three weeks as an American Red Cross volunteer in Mississippi. That experience informed the creation of A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge. As part of the U.S. Department of State’s Speaker & Specialist program, Neufeld has traveled abroad as a “cultural ambassador,” visiting such countries as Burma, Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, and Israel/Palestine.

Neufeld’s work has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Eisner and the Harvey Awards. His books have been translated into French and Dutch. Neufeld’s illustrations have appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife and daughter. To learn more, visit www.JoshComix.com.

Residency Statement
I’m looking for creators’ intent on both writing and drawing their own books, and committed to a longer form nonfiction work of 100 pages of more. These projects could be journalism or history, memoir or biography, or anything else that falls into the criteria of real-world comics.

To that end, applicants should submit a proposal for a nonfiction graphic novel: an outline of the narrative, and samples of finished comics pages (from previous work or the current project).

Artists will benefit most if they can bring a first draft in an editable form to the residency. This could be in typed screenplay format, though I favor hand-drawn thumbnail layouts that include text and image, drawn legibly so others can read and offer comments. In this form, we can discuss narrative, hone preliminary craft like reference and layouts, or dive into finished artwork.

Application Requirements
Applicants are requested to submit the following:

• a short half-page biography including age and schooling. If you have had any specialized schooling, training, or area of expertise, I would like to know.
• a short half-page personal statement: a brief essay on topics such as why you make sequential art, what inspires you, where you started, where do you want to take it, and so on. Please include your particular interest in comics/cartooning and a brief description of the type of work you intend to do in the future.
• A brief 1-page statement of likes and dislikes. I would like to know: a) which types of comics/manga/bandes dessinées you like/dislike, b) which artist’s tools you like/dislike, c) which types of books and films you like/dislike. This is not a litmus test — there are no wrong answers — I just want to get a sense of your tastes and interests.
• a CV listing all the jobs, not just art-related.  To explain, I consider all jobs to be important creator experiences.

Work samples:

• 7–10 pages of thumbnails, scripting, or any other prep work you naturally do in the process of making a comic.
• 7–10 pages of sequential art from a personal work. These can still be in pencil/rough stage, as long as they are legible and the storytelling is clear.
• 5–7 pages from a finished piece. I’d like to see finished work from at least two separate projects, preferably complete short stories or self-contained sequences or scenarios. But be sure to send the work you’re really interested in or which you’re particularly happy with, not work you think I'd like to see. Subject matter isn’t important - it can be anything you want to make comics about.

For the above samples, any media is fine, but digital files are required for review.

FULL Scholarships to attend FREE are available for painters and sculptors (through The Joan Mitchell Foundation) and composers (through The Sally Mead Hands Foundation) for ALL accepted artists who submit ACA Financial Aid forms upon acceptance. Limited additional Financial Aid is available for writers through The Pabst Charitable Foundation for the Arts and the Atlantic Center for the Arts Advance an Artist Program.