At ALA 2026, Comics Creators and Librarians Deepen Bonds
By Heidi MacDonald
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Jul 02, 2026
While the ALA was celebrating 150 years of promoting books and reading, the Graphic Novel and Comics Roundtable (GNCRT) was celebrating just eight years of connecting comics and librarians. But the results of its initial goals for the organization were visible everywhere at a show that had a significant comics presence. The comics creators appearing at ALA would be the envy of any comic con, with a star-studded line-up including Matt Fraction, Maia Kobabe, Alex Ross, Joe Sacco, Tim Seeley, Raina Telgemeier, James Tynion IV, and many more. It’s just part of how comics have become an integral part of the event.
One of the biggest achievements for the GNCRT was presenting the Outstanding Comics Awards for the first time. Establishing awards for graphic novels to give librarians access to more notable works was a key goal for the GNCRT dating back to when it was officially recognized in 2018. Now that dream is a reality, says Eric Carpenter, school librarian at Parkside Elementary School in Atlanta and a member of the GNCRT awards committee who helped bring the awards over the finish line
The finalists and winners were announced back in January, along with other ALA awards, but the ALA annual meeting in Chicago was the place for the winners to shine. The awards were presented at a reception, and a panel was held, featuring honorees Raised by Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn, Insectopolisby Peter Kuper, and Search and Destroy, Vol. 1 by Atsushi Kaneko
The GNCRT has been releasing lists of notable books for years, but “this is something that really is a little shinier,” Carpenter says. The aim of the awards was to help spotlight worthy works to librarians—award winning titles are often an autobuy for systems. “We want to help libraries that may not have expertise in curating comics at any age level to have another source of finding out what’s great.” Carpenter says other awards such as the Eisners often laud work in a format that’s difficult for libraries to collect. “This is librarians telling other librarians, hey, here’s some of the best stuff to add to your collection.”
The Outstanding Comics Awards are particularly important for adult graphic novels. Kids and YA comics and manga are hugely popular almost everywhere—in Carpenter’s school there are more than 1,200 graphic novels in a collection of about 7,000 books—but adult graphic novels are often much harder for librarians to assess
Publishers say it’s too soon to tell if the awards will have an impact on sales to libraries, but it’s a promising start
Aside from the award winners, comics creators were everywhere at ALA 150. Famed artist Ross was the real get, making his first appearance at a comics-related event in nearly a decade. He appeared with his long-time collaborator Steve Darnall to talk about the novelization of Marvels and Ross’s upcoming solo project Marvel Dimensions, both from Abrams Comic Arts. While Ross prefers to avoid the hubbub and fan frenzy of traditional shows, where his paintings sell for five figures, at ALA the mood was much more relaxed, and Ross was excited to meet with librarians and sign posters for them.
Kobabe also drew long lines, promoting the expanded 10thanniversaryeditionofGender Queer. Kobabe is relieved to no longer have the most banned book in America, and eir groundbreaking memoir continues to touch lives. “I love to sit as close to the signings as I possibly can,” says Oni VP of sales Spencer Simpson. “Because every single librarian will come up to her with a story about how that book saved one of their patrons, and then they’re crying, e’s crying, and I’m crying. It’s a beautiful thing. And it makes me feel really fortunate to be in this industry.”
While comics publishers were to be found everywhere in the main part of the show floor, Artists Alley and the dedicated small press/comics area have also grown significantly over the years, spreading out into the author and zine sections. It’s now become a destination for librarians according to a number of publishers PW spoke with. Yen Press sales and marketing director Mark de Vera says that he’s now excited to be in that area, after previously considering whether a spot with traditional publishers would be more effective. ”“Even within just the past four years, I have seen growing interest in comics and graphic novels,” he told PW.
There was also a new programming event: a publisher/librarian summit presented by Booklist and the GNCRT. Somewhat similar to the popular roundtables at comics retailing events, publishers such as Oni and Viz shared ideas and goals with librarians. Among the issues raised: more durable bindings for popular manga titles, the question of numbering volumes or giving them titles, and getting more re
As a first time event—which publishers paid to participate in—there were some wrinkles to iron out, but attendees said it was worthwhile and hoped that it could grow into an even bigger networking event. “It was a kernel of an idea that we managed to get up and running,” says GNCRT Conference Committee member Matthew Noe, who helped facilitate along with current GNCRT president Jillian Rudes. “Now we’re thinking how else can we do this and spotlight smaller publishers.” With so many GNCRT launch goals achieved, Noe says there are still more activities to think about, including reaching out internationally. While noting that he spoke only for himself and not as a GNCRT spokesperson, he says, “I would love the GNCRT to be able to go to ComicsPRo [an annual meeting for comics retailers] at some point. I think there’s room for us to have stronger relationships with retailers.”
