Creators, Artists, Authors and Exhibitors Participate in Annual Literary Festival

Norwalk, CT, September 8, 2009: New York Comic Con (NYCC) has today revealed the programming and events that will take place in the dedicated NYCC Pavilion at this year's Brooklyn Book Festival (BBF), Sunday, September 13 at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza. Organizers of both NYCC and BBF recently announced (August 12, 2009) that New York Comic Con, New York's premier pop culture convention, would have a significant presence at this year's Brooklyn Book Festival, which draws nearly 30,000 visitors to enjoy and experience a world of books and authors through readings, panels, autographings, and a range of publisher and bookseller sponsored events. NYCC is ranked by Crain's New York Business as the second-largest annual event in NYC, and the next NYCC, which is expected to attract upwards of 75,000 fans, will take place October 8 - 10, 2010 at the Jacob K. Javits Center. This year's presence at BBF provides an opportunity to spread further awareness of comics and graphic literature while providing free interaction and entertainment for thousands of NYCC fans.

"Both NYCC and BBF are strong New York events with distinct local flavor and focus, and we both have our greatest support from the residents of NYC," notes Lance Fensterman, Vice President for the Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group, which manages NYCC among several other pop culture events. "On top of this, there is so much cross-over and commonality between the pop culture world and the literary world that our presence at the Brooklyn Book Festival seems almost intuitive. Where else would Jonathan Ames, Phil Jimenez, and Francine Prose fit so comfortably together? We are very pleased and proud to be a part of this event, and I hope our presence will add significantly to the excitement and sense of community that defines NYCC and BBF."

Organizers note that the NYCC Pavilion will include performances, presentations, autographings, and other opportunities for fans to interact directly with artists, creators, publishers, and retailers. The following is a list of the programming events that have been scheduled to date. Further details about NYCC activity at BBF are available by visiting the official NYCC website at www.nycomiccon.com and clicking on Brooklyn Book Festival.

NYCC Pavilion Stage Programming:

Comics Get Syncopated: Memoir, History, Biography, and Reportage in Comics Today
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Brendan Burford is the comics editor at King Features Syndicate, and the editor of SYNCOPATED: AN ANTHOLOGY OF NONFICTION PICTO-ESSAYS, which collects memoirs, profiles and reports from talented comics creators in an eye-opening graphic novel format. Join Brendan and other SYNCOPATED contributors as they discuss how the comic format has opened new doors in nonfiction storytelling. Moderated by Brendan Burford.

Fact vs. Fiction in Action-Adventure Comics
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Comics artists and writers Matt Loux, Fred van Lente, Chris Giarruso, Kevin Pyle and Barry Lyga discuss how they are inspired by real events, scientific research, and even math and physics to come up with action-packed adventure stories. They'll answer Q&A from the audience and give a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating comics. For kids of all ages. Moderated by Alex Simmons.

Sci Fi and Fantasy in NYC
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Is there anything hotter than Sci Fi and Fantasy right now? We don't think so. Join authors S.C. Butler, Peter Brett, Anton Strout and Dave Roman as they discuss all that is paranormal in NYC.

Marvel Writers
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
How do they do it? Some of Marvel's hottest writers talk about their work on your favorite comics. Moderated by Jim McCann.

Spotlight on Tom DeFalco, Phil Jimenez and Dennis O'Neil
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Veteran artists Tom DeFalco, Phil Jimenez and Dennis O'Neil gather to speak about their common influences, current projects, and the trends that are shaping the future. Moderated by Danny Fingeroth.

The ACT-I-VATE Renaissance
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
There is a comic book renaissance happening in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and members from both DEEP6 and XOXOs Studios, featuring Dean Haspiel, Mike Cavallaro, Tim Hamilton, Joe Infurnari, Simon Fraser, Molly Crabapple, and Mike Dawson [among others], will discuss the genesis of ACT-I-VATE, their premier webcomix collective, and sneak-peek their upcoming print anthology, THE ACT-I-VATE PRIMER. Moderated by Jeff Newelt, who will also announce two new members to ACT-I-VATE. For more info on ACT-I-VATE, please visit: http://www.act-i-vate.com.

Hip Hop Hearts Anime
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
A conversation on the cross-pollination of urban culture in Japan and hip hop into popular anime. Anime has played a pivotal role in the past few years in allowing cultures to meld and mix, and our group of anime fanatics, hip hop artists, activists, and social entrepreneurs will come together based on their love for anime culture to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of this cultural exchange and how it will stay with our youth in the years to come.

Toon Books "Benny and Penny" Readers Theater for Children
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
See one of the Toon Books come alive with a performance by Geoffrey Hayes and Leigh Stein. Pirates and princesses, sweet mice and monsters next door.... in a staged reading of the Toon "Benny and Penny" books, author Geoffrey Hayes and actress Leigh Stein bring comics to life! For kids of all ages.

For general information about New York Comic Con please visit www.nycomiccon.com and for the latest news about the Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group, please follow the group's official blog, www.mediumatlarge.net.

ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS POP CULTURE GROUP:

The Pop Culture Group at Reed Exhibitions owns and operates the New York Comic Con (NYCC), the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), and the New York Anime Festival (NYAF). New York Comic Con was launched in 2006 and quickly became a dominant presence in the pop culture world of public events. In 2009, 452 companies exhibited at NYCC for a total of 84,000 square feet of paid exhibit space, and it has been ranked by Crain's New York Business as the second-largest annual event in NYC. C2E2, which will debut April 16 - 18 at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center, is modeled after NYCC and will provide fans the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite writers, creators, and artists, as well as to see, hear and learn about the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The Pop Culture Group also operates the recently-launched UFC Fan Expo in partnership with the UFC - the world's leading professional mixed martial arts organization - and it formed a strategic partnership with Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in 2008 and will work closely with PAX on the launch of PAX East in Boston in 2010.