For Immediate Release: July 3, 2008

Graphic Novel set in Oakland Public Library is Real Thriller –Author to Return to Scene of Crime for Presentation

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( Oakland, CA)—Graphic novelist Jason Shiga, a former employee of the Oakland Public Library, will return to his old place of work to recount the exciting adventures of Bookhunter, in the actual setting of his hilarious and action-packed police procedural. A graphic crime thriller with a bookish slant, Bookhunter was recently nominated for the comics industry’s most prestigious award, the Eisner, for Best Graphic Album. Shiga will appear at the Main Library, 125 14 th Street, on Thursday July 17, 2008, from 6 to 8 PM.

Shiga will present slides and read from the book, which depicts a far more tumultuous library than most library patrons are perhaps familiar with. When a priceless book is stolen from the collection, library police – the “bookhunters” of the title – have less than three days to recover the stolen volume. The ensuing plot has all the intrigue you would expect of a TV crime show drama, along with some unexpected twists and turns having to do with bookbinding and library catalogs.

Shiga will be joined by fellow Sparkplug cartoonists Trevor Alixopulos and Hellen Jo. Alixopulos will read from his new graphic novel, The Hot Breath of War, a series of vignettes that explores the entwined themes of sex and war in an age when war is seemingly without end. Hellen Jo will read excerpts from her collected works, an eagerly anticipated Sparkplug fall 2008 release.

For more information, call the Oakland Public Library at (510) 238-3136, or visit the Oakland Public Library’s Website at www.oaklandlibrary.org. To request sign interpretation or other accommodation, please contact the number above or (510) 834-7446 (TTY) at least five working days prior to the event. The Oakland Public Library is a department of the City of Oakland.