MINI BIO:
Marek Bennett makes & teaches comics & music in New Hampshire, USA, and the world beyond… www.MarekBennett.com
FULL BIO:
NH-based cartoonist, musician, and educator Marek Bennett leads discovery-based Comics Workshops for all ages throughout New England and the world beyond! His comics work includes the graphic novel series, The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby, as well as drawing, translating, & editing for The Most Costly Journey (2021) with the bilingual El Viaje Project. In September 2022, both books were featured at the National Book Festival in Washington DC.
Marek is the recipient of the New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Award for Art Education.
His website is: www.MarekBennett.com
Artist Statement (in Comics Format)
A brief account of my methods & purpose.
CARTOONIST PROFILE
Basic info about the artist / Drawn in response to questions from a student project…
HONORS & AWARDS:
🏆 NH Governor’s Arts Award!!
“Marek serves as an inspiring model for students, educators and other artists. His work is brilliant, playful, relevant and infused with compassion and deep understanding of the world as it is, was and might be…”
2022 National Book Festival:
“Great Reads from Great Places: NEW HAMPSHIRE”
(The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby Series)
2022 National Book Festival:
“Great Reads from Great Places: VERMONT”
(The Most Costly Journey)
FINALIST:
GRAPHIC MEDICINE AWARD 2022
(The Most Costly Journey)
VERMONT READS 2022
“We invite Vermont communities to take part in Vermont Reads 2022 by planning projects centered around The Most Costly Journey and its themes of migration, farming, mental health, cartooning, family, labor movements, and the Latinx experience, among others.”
(The Most Costly Journey)
FINALIST: “2020 Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards: Best in Young Adult/Non-Fiction” / Pop Culture Classroom
(The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby Vol. 2: 1863)
FINALIST: “Best Graphic Novel 2019” / National Cartoonists Society 2020 Reuben Awards
(The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby Vol. 2: 1863)
“Great Graphic Novel for Teens” / Y.A.L.S.A. 2017 / The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby (Vol. 1)
“Best of NH 2016” / NH Magazine
(The Hardtacks)
“Stephen C. Foster Arts & Culture Award” / Civil War Round Table of the Merrimack
(The Hardtacks)
ROSTERED WITH…
Marek is a rostered artist / presenter with the following organizations:
- Children’s Literacy Foundation
- NH Humanities‘ “Humanities To Go” Program
- NHSCA (Arts In Education & Community Arts)
Hi, I’m a writer living in Henniker. We met once this December walking in the woods. I have been working on several books. One is about a diary I kept when I was on welfare when my son was small, and I have been thinking about making it into a comic book/graphic novel. Wonder if you would like to work together. You can look at my work at taramarvel.com. Hope to see you soon. Tara
Good walking and talking with you and Maddy this evening at the Cowboy Poetry gathering areas.