September 20, 2019

Event date: September 3, 2019 – September 3, 2019

KIRKUS Reviews listed Stage Dreams at the top of its 30 most-anticipated fall YA Books list!

Stage Dreams by The Center for Cartoon Studies graduate Melanie Gillman ′12 released on September 3rd through Lerner Books. In this rollicking queer western adventure, Flor and Grace, a Latinx outlaw and a trans runaway, team up to thwart a Confederate plot in the New Mexico Territory. When Flor robs the stagecoach that Grace has used to escape her Georgia home, the first thing on her mind is ransom. But when the two get to talking about Flor’s plan to crash a Confederate gala and steal some crucial documents, Grace convinces Flor to let her join the heist

Praise for Stage Dreams:

• “an engrossing escapade with a heart-stealing queer romance.” –Kirkus Review
• “This was everything I wanted to be. It was beautifully illustrated, completely affirming for every queer character in it and full of rebellion.” –Ceillie Simkiss
• “Gillman’s signature colored pencil artwork is perfect for the setting, rich in dusty desert hues and bright pops of color on clothing and blushing cheeks.” –Susan Krohn on Love in Panels
• ” a rare and page-turning depiction of LGBTQ characters in historical fiction, which offers a new perspective on the Old West.” –Margaret at Nerds and Beyond

Melanie Gillman won the American Library Association Stonewall Award Honor Book for As the Crow Flies, Volume 1 (Iron Circus, 2017). The webcomic has been nominated for the Slate Cartoonist Studio Prize (2013), an Eisner Award (2014), an Ignatz (2016), and won a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators (2016). Melanie gave an interview with Brigid Alverson at the School Library Journal and with Alenka Figa at Women Write about Comics.

Available everywhere!

See also…

“A Graphic Novel About A Transgender Southerner Of The Old West”
Melanie Gillman interview with Joshua Johnson, host of 1A program, a production of WAMU in Washington, DC and distributed by NPR.

“Kick Off Fall With This Trio Of Innovative YA Graphic Novels”
Etelka Lehoczky, NPR Book Review.