The New York Comic Con is spreading beyond the confines of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and beyond its scheduled weekend of 8-10 October 2010 (the last NYCC was in February, but they’ve changed their calendar for the future). New York’s “premiere pop culture convention” has teamed up with the Brooklyn Book Festival, which will be Sunday 13 September 2009 on the plaza around Brooklyn’s Borough Hall.
NYCC will have its own programming area at the Festival, which will include a performance tent, guest presentations, guest autographing sessions and a dedicated marketplace area. They’ve already confirmed several guests, including comic book writer and editor Denny O’Neil, creator Phil Jimenez, and writer and editor Tom DeFalco. Companies already planning to participate under the NYCC umbrella include Captain Action, Midtown Comics, Moonstone Publishing, and Disney Publishing. NYCC will also sponsor Hip Hop Hearts Anime, a live-performance featuring local DJs which focuses on the intermixing of American hip hop culture and Japanese anime.
“The Brooklyn Book Festival is an awesome gathering and I have had tremendous respect for the festival from the moment it started,” said Lance Fensterman, Vice President and Show Manager for NYCC. “We are proud to bring an intense graphic lit and pop culture presence to such a great festival. I am sure this will provide our customers with the opportunity to connect directly with lots of new fans. Plus, it’s all for free! This is a win-win in every respect.”
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz welcomed the participation of NYCC, saying “These days, Brooklyn is a hotbed of pop culture, high-tech culture, literary and blog culture, ethnic culture, indie culture, and has basically become an international hub for in-your-face creativity. It’s only fitting that the Brooklyn Book Festival would form a dynamic duo with New York Comic Con!”
Joining the announcement, the Festival has revealed some of the expected programming, which dovetails with the NYCC’s interests. Some of those panels will include:
* “The International Graphic Novel” featuring Guy Delisle, Peter Kuper, and Sarah Glidden, moderated by Matt Madden
* “The Naked City: Urban Realism and the Global City in Fiction & Non-Fiction” featuring David Lida, Meera Nair, Hirsh Sawhney and moderator Cheryl Harris Sharman
* “Literature in a Digital Age” featuring John Freeman, Dwight Garner, and Sarah Schmelling
* “Poetry, Pop and Hip-Hop” featuring Lupe Fiasco, Thurston Moore, Tracie Morris, Matthew Zapruder and moderator Touré