SLICE 2024
When: October 26, 2024, from 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Where: The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108
Free and open to the public!
Plan Your SLICE!
Parking at the Sheldon
Parking is available at the Fox Theatre lot and the Fox Theatre parking garage on Washington Boulevard, and at meters along Washington, Olive Street and North Spring Ave.
Food Truck
Blues Fired Pizza will be outside the Sheldon from 11am-3pm!
Special Guests
Mattie Lubchansky
Cartoonist
Queens, NY
Mattie Lubchansky is a cartoonist living in beautiful Queens, NY. They are the former Associate Editor of the Eisner and Ignatz Award-winning publication The Nib, and the author of Boys Weekend (Pantheon, 2023) and The Antifa Super-Soldier Cookbook (Silver Sprocket, 2021).
Jamila Rowser
Writer and owner of Black Josei Press
North Carolina
Jamila Rowser is an award-winning Queer, disabled, and Afro-Latina writer, editor, and publisher. She’s known for her award-winning debut graphic novel, Wash Day Diaries, co-created with Robyn Smith and as the founder of Black Josei Press. Jamila lives in North Carolina but reps The Bronx.
Nadia Shammas
Writer
Toronto, CAN
Nadia Shammas is an award-winning multidisciplinary Palestinian-American writer, artist, and game developer raised in Brooklyn, NY and now resides in Toronto, Canada. She is best known as the co-creator of SQUIRE, an original Middle Eastern fantasy graphic novel, alongside Sara Alfageeh. Nadia may also be recognized by a variety of writing on Ms. Marvel, Batman, and the recent DEAD BY DAYLIGHT comics. Their work seeks to decolonize genre tropes and often focuses on intersections and formation of identity, memory, power, and the body. Her ultimate dream is to return home to her grandmother’s house in Bethlehem.
Featured Guests
Nate Powell
Cartoonist
Bloomington, IN
Nate Powell is a National Book Award-winning cartoonist who began self-publishing as an Arkansas teenager in 1992. His work includes the new graphic novel Fall Through and a new comics adaptation of James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me, as well as Save It For Later, civil rights icon John Lewis’s March trilogy, Come Again, Two Dead and more.
Powell’s work has received multiple Eisner and Ignatz awards, ALA and YALSA distinctions, the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award, CXC Transformative Work Award, and is a two-time finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He has discussed his work at the United Nations, on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, PBS, CNN, and NPR.
Marie Enger
Cartoonist
St. Louis, MO
Marie Enger is a Cartoonist and Illustrator based out of, omg, you guessed it – StL! They are the art-part of UNDER KINGDOM and WHERE BLACK STARS RISE, the creator of CASKET LAND and DEATH TO THE WIZARD KINGS, hard at work on CONTROLLED BURN, but constantly thinking about self publishing more books like Nosferatu!, WTF is THAT?!, and SUPER SECRET MYSTERY COMIC. Ask them about the Cartoonist Co-Op.
Or kombucha.
Pidge
Artist and Educator
Colorado
Pidge is an artist and educator who is the creator, illustrator, and letterer of her Ignatz Award nominated comic, Infinite Wheatpaste. She currently resides in a quiet mountain town in the heart of the Colorado Rockies with her spouse and colourist, Professor Chase Hutchison. Pidge’s other published works include contributions to Heavy Rotation and Fast Times in Comic Book Editing alongside various micro-press anthologies. She is currently working on more IWP and Skylarks, an all-ages mystery. When she isn’t drawing or teaching middle schoolers, she can be found knitting and snowboarding.
Exhibit Hall Map
Exhibitors
Opening Night Ceremony
Get excited! SLICE 2024 festivities will kick off with an opening night panel discussion featuring our special guests, hosted at the Pulitzer on Friday, October 25, from 6–8 p.m.
Like the expo, this event is free and open to the public!
Expo Day Programming
11am-12pm – Caricature Workshop – Encore Society Lounge, 2nd Floor
Greg Mc of OGTV
Caricatures with your homeboi Greg will begin with a brief history (from the Renaissance to corndogs) and professional tips, exercises, and games on how to draw as a speed artist, how to draw exaggerated caricatures, and tips on keeping your drawing muscles in shape.
SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE
11am-12pm – Spotlight on Mattie Lubchansky – Gallery, 2nd Floor
Mattie Lubchanky, cartoonist | Queens, NY
with Steenz, cartoonist | St. Louis, MO
Mattie Lubchansky gives a short presentation on their history of creative work and their editorial history with The Nib. Mattie and Steenz will have a conversation on satire, editing, and cartooning.
12pm-2pm – Live Poetry Writing – 1st Floor Foyer and Konneker Room
Saint Louis Poetry Center and Ars Poetica
Get a live poem written by a local poet! Our guest typewriter poets will write spontaneous customized poetry for attendees.
SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE
12:30pm-1:30pm – Spotlight on Jamila Rowser – Gallery, 2nd Floor
Jamila Rowser, writer, editor, and owner, Black Josei Press | Fayetteville, NC
with Steenz, cartoonist | St. Louis, MO
Jamila Rowser of Black Josei Press gives a behind-the-scenes look at managing a press and their journey as a comic book writer and editor. Join Jamila and Steenz for a conversation about writing, editing, and collaboration.
1pm-2pm -Copyright and Intellectual Property Workshop – Encore Society Lounge, 2nd Floor
Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA)
Copyright and trademark are related but have different purposes. St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts (VLAA) will present an overview.
FEATURED GUEST LECTURE
2pm-3pm – Personal Narratives in Sci-Fi and Fantasy – Gallery, 2nd Floor
Pidge, artist and educator | Colorado
with Ray Nadine and April Malig, moderated by Mikkel Snyder
Modern science fiction and fantasy have become more focused on how things feel rather than the exact mechanics of how they work. Join Pidge, Ray Nadine, and April Malig for a panel about using the framework of sci-fi and fantasy to tell personal stories.
3:30pm-4:30pm – Round Table Portrait Drawing – Encore Society Lounge, 2nd Floor
with Clarissa Claire
Draw a muse, be a muse, and be amused as friends and strangers take turns drawing each other. Paper and drawing tools provided, or BYO.
SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE
3:30pm-4:30pm – Dis-Orienting – Gallery, 2nd Floor
Nadia Shammas, writer, artist, and game developer | Toronto, CAN
with Shreya R Krishnan
Orientalism has been and continues to be deeply rooted in the media we watch. Even Avatar: The Last Airbender is guilty of having the only desert folks being nameless thieves who abuse and steal Appa the air bison. So what would it look like to divest old Oriental tropes from our pop culture and world-building? Join Nadia and Shreyas for a conversation about this and more.
Safe Space Policy
SLICE is a safe space, which means that it is intended to be a welcoming, engaging, and supportive environment free of oppressive actions, behavior, and language. Participants and attendees are asked to consider how their language and behavior impact others in attendance.
The following guidelines will help SLICE be a safer space:
• Respect people’s physical and emotional boundaries.
• Always get explicit verbal consent before touching someone or crossing boundaries.
• Respect people’s opinions, beliefs, differing states of being, and differing points of view.
• Be responsible for your actions and aware that they may have an effect on others regardless of original intent.
The following actions and forms of discrimination and abuse will not be tolerated:
• Racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and all other forms of discrimination
• Theft of money or property
• Physical, verbal, or mental abuse
• Sexual harassment or inappropriate/unwelcome comments and behaviors
• Disruptive or disrespectful behavior
• Causing a participant or attendee to feel distressed or unsafe
Should an issue arise with a participant or attendee during the Expo, please come to the information table and ask for a SLICE organizer. Organizers will be available to hear these concerns and find a solution that is in the best interests of making the community and the event a safer space. The SLICE organizers reserve the right to ask any attendees who are violating the safe space policy to change or address their unsafe behavior or language, or leave the event if necessary.
COVID-19 Policy
Masks are strongly encouraged for all attendees, exhibitors, and staff at SLICE. In order to protect immunocompromised folks in our community, we ask that you wear your masks in the expo hall.
SLICE recommends testing for COVID-19 within 48 hours prior to the event. If you test positive the day of the event, please do not attend.
SLICE staffers will provide free KN95 masks to those who need them. The Sheldon is equipped with HVAC filtration that meets CDC ventilation guidelines for COVID-19. We will also be supplying two portable HEPA air scrubbers to improve filtration in the expo hall. We are providing outdoor seating options and encourage guests to eat outside.
Thank you to the Cartoonist Cooperative for publishing the Masking Initiative and Resources guide, which was crucial to our planning!