Following the success of Brighton – The Graphic Novel QueenSpark Books are launching a crowdfunding campaign to bring a brand new edition to the Brighton graphic collection; Brighton’s Graphic War.
QueenSpark Books is the longest-running and most prolific community publisher in the UK. Formed in 1972 as part of a grassroots campaign for a nursery school instead of a casino in the Queens Park area of Brighton and Hove. QueenSpark originally published books documenting the lives of local people. This was part of a movement that highlighted working class lives and writing was made through oral recordings, diaries and workshops. More recently however, they have started publishing the history of theatre and cinema in the city, photographic collections and autobiographies of Brighton and Hove residents. The publisher is dedicated to preserving the untold stories of Brighton and Hove, and we imagine there is a lot of them.
Brighton’s Graphic War will illustrate the huge social and military changes that took place from 1900 to 1920 and details how World War One impacted the people of Brighton. There are eight illustrated fictionalised narratives that include actual events, characters and photographs from the era. The graphic novel depicts the First World War from the perspective of a young serviceman, a young woman pretending to be a serviceman and those on the home front. The novel will be a great way to understand the First World War from a local perspective.
The project is supported by Arts Council England but their funding does not cover the full design and print costs, which is where we come in. QueenSpark Books need donations from us to ensure that they can cover the costs. Brighton’s Graphic War will be launched on 11th November 2016, a fitting tribute, and will contain approximately 170 pages. You can support this project here. To find out more about QueenSpark Books and the other great work they publish, head to their website.
Holly Martin
feature image is from photohistory-sussex and is from the Bob Whiting page -the Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper and later Private in the Army. He died during the Arras offensive. To find out more about his life click here.
