This week Neil Gaiman’s MAKE GOOD ART Book came out (which was designed by Chip Kidd) and one cool thing to happen is that the Philadelphia Weekly not only did a great interview all about the creation of this book, but they put Neil’s face on the cover! Oddly, this is only the second time that has happened (the first was on WIRED Magazine).

Neil Gaiman was interviewed by Kyle Cassidy. The article covers many topics all related to the new MAKE GOOD ART book like how did the, now famous, graduation Speech even come about and what prompted the creation of this book. It’s a great interview with this fun Author. Here’s a LINK to check it out, just CLICK HERE!

NPR Radio’s Talk of the Nation recently interviewed Neil Gaiman about his latest Graduation Gift book titled, “Neil Gaiman’s MAKE GOOD ART Speech”. The new book, designed by Chip Kidd and published by Harper Collins, is set to be released on Wednesday, May 15th, 2013.

Click here to listen to the NPR Radio Interview with Neil Gaiman:

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To celebrate the launch of Neil Gaiman’s “MAKE GOOD ART“ Speech Book Neil Gaiman and Chip Kidd will both appear at the OBERON in Cambridge (Boston) on Wednesday, June 5th, 2013 at 6:30pm.

Literary legend Neil Gaiman (American Gods, The Sandman, Stardust & soon to be, Ocean at the End of the Lane: a Novel), in his wonderful 2012 commencement address at the University of the Arts in Pennsylvania, encouraged graduates to do one thing, even in the worst of times: Make Good Art. Gaiman– who has written novels, short fiction, comic books, screenplays, children’s books, and graphic novels– and Chip Kidd, who designed the innovative cover and interior for the published book based on the speech, convene at the Oberon to discuss Gaiman's unconventional career path, prodigious output, and the bravery and creativity that goes into making good art. This special, intimate evening presents a rare encounter with one of contemporary literature’s most creative minds alongside the top graphic designer in publishing. They will discuss their own artistic processes and pass along advice for how to Make Good Art. Tickets are $25, which includes a copy of MAKE GOOD ART with a book signing to follow the conversation.

For Ticket Information please CLICK HERE!

Also, CLICK HERE to preview a sampling of Make Good Art‘s fantastically stylized interior.

Chip Kidd, Associate Art Director at Knopf Books, Peter Mendelsund, Art Director for Pantheon Press, and Stephen Doyle, Creative Director, Doyle Partners; Design Contributor, New York Times and Wired, discuss whether cutting edge visual design can save the print industry. The talk is moderated by Darhil Crooks, Creative Director for the Atlantic, and way down below is the video-taped footage of the event.

Date: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
Location: New York Historical Society, NYC

The first Speaker is Chip Kidd and he starts out talking a little bit about working with Neil Gaiman on Neil’s new book, MAKE GOOD ART : Neil Gaiman’s Speech Book. Which, by the way, is coming out on Wednesday, May 15th. Yes, that’s tomorrow! Very quickly, Chip Kidd gives a preview of what the book will look like, discusses some of the design ideas and concepts, and then (in a very sneaky way) he shamelessly plugs his own book that is coming out in October of 2013. We’re talking about his “Teaching Graphic Art to Kids” Book which is titled, “GO! A KIDD’S GUIDE TO GRAPHIC DESIGN“.

Then, next-up is Peter Mendelsund who quickly shares an amazing assortment of some of his work. Like Chip, he mainly designs book covers. But his graphic art has an interesting twist. He designs jackets for new books that are expected to be bestsellers AND he creates new covers for old classics, what they call the “back list”, and it’s all really great stuff like: Franz Kafka, Dante, Plato, Simone De Beauyoir, James Joyce, etc…

Peter also makes a shameless plug for his brand-new Design Book coming out in the Spring of 2014 titled, “COVER” by Peter Mendelsund. It looks pretty cool!

Then, the last guest (last, but NOT least) is Stephen Doyle who shares an amazing art-concept movie he created called CIPHER. This was a project he worked on with some Students and the end result is pretty interesting. He also discusses recent trends in publishing & print media.

This post is mostly a friendly reminder to let people know that Chip Kidd will be appearing at a special event in New York City on May 9th. We announced it here awhile back. But the main reason we posted this reminder is that on the “Next Appearances” page, we recently added another event for May 11th ( Canada – 2013 TORONTO COMICS ARTS FESTIVAL ), and that pushes this NYC event down the list… we just didn’t want anyone to miss it.

So, for more information, please CLICK HERE!

The University of the Arts is excited to present “Make Good Art: A Conversation and Book Signing with Neil Gaiman” on Tuesday, May 14th at 7 p.m. in Levitt Auditorium, at Gershman Hall. Also, UArts is located in Philadelphia, PA.

Neil Gaiman is an award-winning author and graphic novelist whose 2012 commencement speech to UArts graduates became an international viral sensation. Gaiman’s speech urged graduates to “make good art” and resonated with creative people around the world. The book, MAKE GOOD ART, which will be released later this month, contains the full text of that speech and was designed by book designer Chip Kidd. (Chip Kidd will NOT be at the event, this post is for Neil’s Fans).

A limited number of free tickets are available exclusively to UArts students, faculty and staff, ONE PER PERSON. Students will be able to pick up tickets in Gershman Hall, Room 304, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Monday, May 6 through Friday, May 10. STUDENT ID IS REQUIRED for pickup.

Faculty and staff will be able to pick up tickets in the Advancement Office on the first floor of Hamilton Hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, May 6 through Friday, May 10. Please show your UArts ID when picking up your tickets.

The evening of May 14 will consist of a Q-and-A session between Gaiman and UArts President Sean Buffington, then Gaiman will answer audience questions culled from note cards that will be filled out and collected prior to the start of the event. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with copies of MAKE GOOD ART on sale before and after the question-and-answer session. Gaiman will be available afterward to sign copies of MAKE GOOD ART
(as many copies of the book as each attendee purchases, and up to two other Neil Gaiman titles).

Again, please keep in mind that this event is exclusively for members of the UArts community, with one ticket per person on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, please CLICK HERE!

Just a quick shout out for fans of our friend Chris Ware. His artwork is going to be featured on the cover of the next fresh issue of THE NEW YORKER Magazine. This is Chris Ware’s special “Mother’s Day” cover that will hit newsstands on May 13th, 2013. So, please be sure to keep an eye out for it!

Also, Please be sure to read Chris Ware’s Article about this Cover by clicking RIGHT HERE!

WOW! We’re really excited to report that Chip Kidd designed the main graphic for the cover to today’s New York Times BOOK REVIEW. The image, shown up above, is obviously a parody on the famous British World War Two “Keep Calm and Carry On” Poster, but it also does a very good job of conveying the basic message of the main book review they are featuring on the cover. It’s the latest Triller Novel from John Le Carr titled, A DELICATE TRUTH.

The book will be released by Viking on May 7th (Yes, that’s in 2 days, ha!). As an important side note we should mention that Chip Kidd did not design the cover for the actual book.

So, please be sure to read today’s New York Times BOOK REVIEW by OLEN STEINHAUER, just CLICK HERE!

This coming weekend, May 11th and 12th to be exact, Chip Kidd will be making an appearance at the 2013 TORONTO COMICS ARTS FESTIVAL. The event is held at the Toronto Reference Library in Toronto, Canada and is open FREE to the public.

Other guests appearing this year will be Gengoroh Tagame, Art Spiegelman, Fran oise Mouly, Paul Pope, Maurice Vellekoop (who designed the poster shown up above), the Brothers Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Ivan Brunetti, Taiyo Matsumoto, Michel Rabagliati, and many others. Please check their website for a complete list of special guests and events.

1:30-2:30PM Spotlight: Maurice Vellekoop in conversation with Chip Kidd
One of the most respected editorial and fashion cartoonists today, Maurice Vellekoop is a featured guest. On this program, Vellekoop discusses his life, work, and upcoming projects with Book Designer and Pantheon Books editor Chip Kidd. The two will also make a very special announcement...!

Also, The event is open from 9:00 to 5:00 pm on Saturday, May 11th. Then on Sunday, May 12th, from 11:00 to 5:00 pm.

For more information, please CLICK HERE!

Cartoonist and MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellowship winner Ben Katchor was recently interviewed by Gil Roth in a episode of “The Virtual Memories Show” Podcast. The main focus was Ben Katchor’s brand-new graphic novel recently published by Pantheon Books in 2013 titled, HAND-DRYING IN AMERICA AND OTHER STORIES, which collects his monthly comic page from Metropolis magazine. During this special episode, Ben even “performs” several of his comics. Plus, he gives us all some really great insight into his creative process. Also, as a side-note, we should mention that this book cover was designed by Chip Kidd.

We have embedded the podcast down below, but for even MORE information we suggest a visit to VIRTUAL MEMORIES.

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Ben Katchor
Hand Drying in America and Other Stories
Pantheon Books / Random House
ISBN 978-0-307-90690-8
160 Pages