Prairie Comics Festival, a non profit
Winnipeg-based organization known for its annual artist market and year
round educational comics programming, announced its three headliner
guests for the 2023 Festival, taking place September 23 to 24 at the
West End Cultural Centre. They have also curated the finalized roster of
exhibitors, the largest contingent in the event’s history.
In 2023, Prairie Comics Festival welcomes three Canadian guest comic
creators: indigenous artist Cole Pauls (Kwändǖr, Conundrum Press),
Toronto-based creator Megan Kearney (Swan Lake: Quest for the Kingdoms,
HarperCollins), and National Book Award Nominee Johnnie Christmas (Swim
Team, HarperCollins). These guests will have prominent exhibits at the
festival, and will also take part in daily programming, plus a special
presentation with Festival Partner McNally Robinson Booksellers on
September 23 at 7pm.
“We are so excited to have Cole, Megan, and Johnnie take part in this
year’s Festival,” says Artistic Director S.M. Beiko. “The community need
for professional comic creators bringing their expertise and experience
has only grown since our first event in 2016, and we are committed to
creating more opportunities like this for Winnipeg’s indie comic artists
and enthusiasts.”
In addition to these three award-winning creators coming to Winnipeg in
the Fall, Prairie Comics Festival has expanded its artist market to
feature 42 exhibitors: a mix of local Manitoban creators, plus others
from across Canada, as well as the United States. Beiko says, “Our
Festival is a prime opportunity for Winnipeggers to meet creators from a
wide range of artistic experience, backgrounds, and locales, and for
those creators to bring their work into a vibrant new market.” Prairie
Comics Festival has also subsidized 4 exhibitor tables in 2023, for
first-time exhibitors looking to develop an engaging display to sell
their works, with mentorship provided by Prairie Comics Festival. The
full list of exhibiting creators for the 2023 Festival can be found
online at http://prairiecomics.com/exhibitors.
Prairie Comics Festival began in 2016 at the Millennium Library as a
one-day festival celebrating independently owned and created works of
sequential art—comics, graphic novels, and zines. Since then, it has
grown to encapsulate a full weekend, featuring exhibiting artists from
all over Canada and the U.S., and past guests such as Mariko Tamaki,
Cecil Castelucci, Val DeLandro, and Amy Chu. The Festival also includes
panel programming on industry topics such as Pitching to Publishers,
Queer Representation in Comics, and more, as well as hands-on workshops
for attendees interested in starting their own artistic journey in
comics. Prairie Comics Festival, and all of its ancillary events, is and
always will be free for the public to attend.
Please note: Prairie Comics Festival is not associated with events like
Comic Con, and does not allow fan art or the sale of major published
comics at its market (like Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc). All works
represented and distributed at PCF are owned by the creators and small
presses exhibiting.
Learn more about Prairie Comics Festival at
http://prairiecomics.com