- Hugo Literary Series
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- Aimee Bender
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- Elizabeth Austen
- Ellen Forney
- Eric McHenry
- Jack Hitt
- Jennifer Finney Boylan
- Keri Healey
- Lesley Hazleton
- Marie Howe
- Matt Ruff
- Matt Smith
- Michelle Tea
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- Sallie Tisdale
- Vikram Chandra
- Finding Your Readers in the 21st Century
- InPrint
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- Hugo Writers Fund
- Frances McCue's Book Release Party
Ellen Forney
Hugo House: You'll be debuting a brand-new piece at Hugo House—have you started working on it yet?
Ellen Forney: Yes. I'm being kind of secret about it, though - except I'll say this: it's autobiographical.
HH: What were your first thoughts on receiving an invitation to write to an assigned theme? Any regrets on saying yes?
EF: Oh, it's an honor, from the first! This year I was invited to be a writer-in-residence for the P.I. and for Hugo House, and what struck me most is that I'm finally being regarded as a writer. Not too long ago, a person would look at my comics and see that I can draw, but not really be conscious of my writing and storytelling. I'm proud to be a writer, I work hard at it, and it's wonderful to have that recognized - and by esteemed organizations, at that.
For the Hugo House presentation, I knew what I wanted to write about right away, and am approaching it from the angle of the given theme. I'm glad to have been handed a focus, some parameters, or I think the subject would have been unwieldy.
HH: Can you give us a hint of how you're approaching the theme of “We Might Be Heroes?” Literally? Figuratively? Prose? Poetry? Interpretive Dance? None of the Above?
EF: I can say this: yes, I am a cartoonist, but no, I'm not dealing with superheroes!
HH: Could you tell us a little bit about your process—how you approach writing something new?
EF: I'm working differently from usual this time, with much more focus on my writing. I mean, writing-writing, on the computer, without taking visuals into consideration (yet). My usual process is to brainstorm the text and visuals on paper, with a mind to interweaving the two.
Subjectwise, I knew my starting point, and I've been following from there, just seeing where the story goes. It's been pretty intense and interesting - it's taken me places I hadn't expected. I guess that's practically a cliché, but it's true!
HH: Tell us 3 non-literary things we don't know about you.
EF: I'm an avid swimmer and yoga practitioner, I have "LED ZEP" tattooed on one of my teeth, and I recently bade a sad goodbye to my sexy '68 Mercury Cougar and sang a happy hello to my adorable '71 BMW 2002.
