Sarah Glidden (born in 1980) is an American cartoonist known for her nonfiction comics and graphic novels.

Biography

Glidden was born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, to a family of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

background. Glidden studied painting at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. She began making comics in 2006 when she was living at the Flux Factory

artist collective An artist collective or art group or artist group is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything t ...

in Queens, New York. She visited

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

as part of a

Birthright Israel Taglit-Birthright Israel (), also known as Birthright Israel or simply Birthright, is a free ten-day heritage trip to Israel, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights for young adults of Jewish heritage between the ages of 18 and 26. The program is spon ...

tour in 2007. The self-published

minicomics A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

she made about that experience won her a 2008 Ignatz Award for "Promising New Talent". In 2010, Glidden wrote and illustrated the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

'' How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less'', a full-length exploration of her 2007 trip. The book has subsequently been translated into five languages. From 2010 to 2012, Glidden was part of

Pizza Island Pizza Island was a shared cartooning studio space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn established in 2010. It was established by Sarah Glidden, Julia Wertz, and Domitille Collardey, and included Kate Beaton, Meredith Gran, Lisa Hanawalt, Karen Sneider, an ...

, a studio consisting of cartoonists

Julia Wertz Julia Wertz (born December 29, 1982) is an American cartoonist, writer and urban explorer. Cartooning career Wertz was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. She made her name with a comic strip titled ''The Fart Party'', which Atomic Books antholo ...

Lisa Hanawalt Lisa Hanawalt is an American illustrator, writer, and cartoonist. She has published comic series, as well as three books of illustrations. She worked as the production designer and a producer of the Netflix animated series ''BoJack Horseman'' (2 ...

Domitille Collardey Domitille Collardey (born 1981) is a French cartoonist and comic book designer. She is best known for her founding the Chicou-Chicou comics collective with Aude Picault. She lives in Paris and Brooklyn, NY. She is a former member of the cartooni ...

, Karen Sneider,

Kate Beaton Kathryn Moira Beaton (born 8 September 1983) is a Canadian comics artist best known as the creator of the comic strip ''Hark! A Vagrant'', which ran from 2007 to 2018. Her other major works include the children's books ''The Princess and the Pon ...

and

Meredith Gran ''Octopus Pie'' is a webcomic written and drawn by Meredith Gran, and coloured by Valerie Halla and Sloane Leong. It focuses on the misadventures of two 20-something women living in Brooklyn, New York. It was updated every Monday, Wednesday and F ...

. Since the publication of ''How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less'', Glidden has been working in

comics journalism Comics journalism is a form of journalism that covers news or nonfiction events using the framework of comics, a combination of words and drawn images. Typically, sources are actual people featured in each story, and word balloons are actual quo ...

. Her 20-page comic on Iraqi refugees in Syria was published on the website Cartoon Movement in 2011, and she also did work for the comics journalism publication ''Symbolia''. Glidden spent a year in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

, France, as an artist in residence at the Maison des Auteurs. In October 2016,

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly (D+Q) is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic con ...

published Glidden's ''Rolling Blackouts'', the nonfiction story of her travels in 2010 through

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

with a small team of journalists. ''Rolling Blackouts'' won the 2017 Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year, sponsored by Penn State University Libraries and administered by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Glidden lives in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington.

Bibliography

* ''Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq'' (Drawn & Quarterly, 2016) * ''How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less'' (Drawn & Quarterly, 2016; first edition Vertigo/DC Comics, 2010) * ''Small Noises'' (self-published, 2006)

References

External links

*
''Rolling Blackouts'' page
at Drawn & Quarterly
Pizza Island
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glidden, Sarah 1980 births Living people Alternative cartoonists Jewish American comics writers Jewish American comics artists American female comics artists American comics writers American female comics writers 21st-century American women artists American graphic novelists