Penn State Press Launches Line of Medical Graphic Novels

Graphic Medicine book series announced

Partnering with the excellent GraphicMedicine.org, an online study of graphic novels and comic books that address health issues, Penn State Press is launching a new series of graphic novels targeted to medical practitioners, patients, caregivers and their families.

As mentioned last week, higher education is embracing the language of sequential arts more and more, and this is just one more example of scholars appreciating that there is a unique way in which comics engage their readers and relay information both factual and emotional.

The editors of this new line of books are currently accepting submissions, and Graphic Medicine posted the below image to their Facebook and Twitter pages to get the word out about their new Graphic Medicine line.

From the announcement:

Graphic Medicine – a new book series from the Pennsylvania State University Press

Graphic Medicine is an exciting new book series from Penn State Press. Curated by an editorial collective with scholarly, creative, and clinical expertise, the series is inspired by a growing awareness of the value of comics as an important resource for communicating about a range of issues broadly termed “medical.” For medical practitioners, patients, and families and caregivers dealing with illness and disability, graphic narrative enlightens complicated or difficult experiences. For scholars in literacy, cultural, and comics studies, the genre articulates a complex and powerful analysis of illness, medicine, and disability and a rethinking of the boundaries of “health.” The series will be diverse in its approach. It will include monographic studies and edited collections from scholars, practitioners, and medical educators, as well as original comics from artists and non artists alike, such as self-reflective “graphic pathographies” or comics used in medical training and education, providing a creative way to learn and teach.

Editorial Collective

Lead Editors

Susan Squier, Brill Professor of Women’s Studies and English, Penn State University

Ian Williams, Comics Artist, Clinician, Editor of GraphicMedicine.org

Collective Editors

MK Czerwiec, Artist-in-Residence, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University

Michael Green, Professor of Humanities and Medicine, Penn State University College of Medicine

Kimberly Myers, Associate Professor of Humanities, Penn State University College of Medicine

Scott Smith, Assistant Professor of English, Penn State University

Submissions should take the form of a 3-5 page proposal outlining the intent of the project, its scope, its relation to other work on the topic, and the audience(s) you have in mind. Please also include 2-3 sample chapters, if available, and your CV.

Questions or submissions? Contact Penn State Press:
Kendra Boileau, Editor-in-Chief
Penn State Press, 820 N. University Dr.
USB 1, Suite C, University Park, PA 16802
kboileau@psu.edu, (814) 867-2220

or the lead series editors:
Susan Squier
219 Burrows Building
University Park, PA 16802
sxs62@psu.edu

Ian Williams
Hafety Lwyd, Llanrhaeadr
Denbighshire, LL16 4PH
UK
ian@graphicmedicine.org