SelfMadeHero

UK-based independent publishing house From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SelfMadeHero is an independent publishing house which specialises in adapting works of literature, as well as producing original graphic novels.

Parent companyMetro Media Ltd
Founded2007
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationLondon
Quick facts Parent company, Founded ...
SelfMadeHero
Parent companyMetro Media Ltd
Founded2007
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters locationLondon
DistributionAbrams Books (US)
Canadian Manda Group (Canada)
Abrams & Chronicle Books (UK)
Thames & Hudson (Australia)[1]
Key peopleEmma Hayley
Fiction genresGraphic novels
ImprintsManga Shakespeare
Eye Classics
Crime Classics
Graphic Biography
Official websitewww.selfmadehero.com
Close

SelfMadeHero's books are distributed in the UK by Abrams & Chronicle Books and in the U.S. by Abrams Books.

History

SelfMadeHero was founded in February 2007 by Emma Hayley, and launched with two lines: Manga Shakespeare,[2][3] featuring works based on the Bard but with different settings – mainly Japan in the past and future, and Eye Classics, which are adaptations of great classic works, such as those of Poe and Kafka.

In 2008 Emma Hayley was named UK Young Publishing Entrepreneur of the Year as part of the British Book Awards.

In 2009 SelfMadeHero expanded to include graphic adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, including Hound of the Baskervilles and A Study in Scarlet, and later several works by H.P. Lovecraft, including the anthology LOVECRAFT by I.N.J. Culbard. It also began publishing the Graphic Biography series with Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, which has further expanded to tell the fascinating life stories of era-defining pop-culture icons such as Hunter S. Thompson and Nick Cave.

Since 2010 SelfMadeHero has been publishing original material, notably Glyn Dillon's The Nao of Brown, The Motherless Oven trilogy by Rob Davis. In 2011 the company received the Kitschies Black Tentacle award.[4]

Graphic Anthology Programme (GAP) and Catalyst

With support from Arts Council England SelfMadeHero launched the Graphic Anthology Programme (GAP) in February 2021.[5] The GAP was a free, public programme that eventually selected 7 applicants for “an intensive 12 weeks of comics mentoring and masterclasses.”[6] This resulted in the anthology Catalyst being published in October 2021, which featured 11 short stories, including the works produced by the 7 chosen GAP participants.[7] The Cartoon Museum also hosted a temporary digital exhibition promoting Catalyst in 2022, titled Catalyst – the Online Exhibition,[8] and Arts Council England also host an online exhibition titled Comics as a catalyst for change.[9]

As well as its central theme of "catalyst", the GAP and the published anthology have both received recognition and praise for the diversity of the creators involved.[10]

2023 First Graphic Novel Award

In June 2023, entries opened for the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award.[11] The award was originally founded by Myriad Editions in 2012, and is now described as :

[...]a partnership between the Cartoon Museum, the publisher SelfMadeHero, and independent graphic novel editor Corinne Pearlman, former Creative Director at Myriad Editions, with thanks to generous support from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and The bks Agency, sponsors of the £500 prize for the winning entry.[12]

Entries are set to close in September 2023, with the winner to be announced in December. Among the judges is SelfMadeHero founder Emma Hayley. SelfMadeHero are also offering a publishing contract as one of the two prizes awarded to the winning author or team, the other being the £500 bursary donated by The bks Agency.[13]

Bibliography

Manga Shakespeare

The adaptations of Shakespeare's plays were made by Richard Appignanesi (who previously worked on Icon Books' Introducing... series), with the art created by UK-based manga artists who came to prominence via Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga (United Kingdom & Ireland) competition, their work for Sweatdrop Studios or London manga collective Umisen Yamisen.

Of SelfMadeHero's two initial lines, it was Manga Shakespeare and its first two titles (Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, which were published simultaneously in January 2007) that contributed most to establishing the company.[14][15] This foundation later allowed SelfMadeHero to branch out into other genres and lines.

More information Title, Artist ...
Title Artist Released ISBN Ref
Hamlet Emma Vieceli February 2007 ISBN 978-0-9552856-1-5 [2][3]
Romeo and Juliet Sonia Leong ISBN 978-0-9552856-0-8
The Tempest Paul Duffield September 2007 ISBN 978-0-9552856-0-8
Richard III Patrick Warren ISBN 978-0-9552856-3-9
A Midsummer Night's Dream Kate Brown February 2008 ISBN 978-0-9552856-4-6
Julius Caesar Mustashrik June 2008 ISBN 978-0-9552856-5-3
Macbeth Robert Deas ISBN 978-0-9552856-6-0
As You Like It Chie Kutsuwada January 2009 ISBN 978-0-9558169-0-1
Othello Ryuta Osada ISBN 978-0-9558169-5-6
Henry VIII Patrick Warren May 2009 ISBN 978-1-906838-02-7
King Lear ILYA ISBN 978-0-9558169-7-0
Much Ado About Nothing Emma Vieceli ISBN 978-0-9558169-6-3
The Merchant of Venice Faye Yong September 2009 ISBN 978-0-9558169-1-8
Twelfth Night Nana Li ISBN 978-0-9558169-9-4
Close

Eye Classics

The creators are drawn from a British comic background (in particular Nevermore) but also include screenwriters and more traditional artists.

More information Title, Author ...
Title Author Adaptation Artist Released ISBN Ref
Nevermore (anthology) Edgar Allan Poe various October 2007 ISBN 978-0-9552856-8-4 [16]
The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov Andrzej Klimowski Danusia Schejbal May 2008 ISBN 978-0-9552856-7-7
The Trial Franz Kafka David Zane Mairowitz Chantal Montellier March 2008 ISBN 978-0-9552856-9-1
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde Ian Edginton I. N. J. Culbard September 2008 ISBN 978-0-9558169-3-2
At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft I. N. J. Culbard October 2010 ISBN 978-1-906838-12-6
The Castle Franz Kafka David Zane Mairowitz, Jaromir99 November 2013 ISBN 978-1-906838-67-6
The Shadow Out of Time H. P. Lovecraft I. N. J. Culbard ISBN 978-1906838683
The Man Who Laughs Victor Hugo David Hine Mark Stafford ISBN 978-1-906838-58-4
Close

Crime Classics

The Crime Classics line began with a set of four adaptations of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, adapted by Ian Edginton, with art by I. N. J. Culbard:

More information Title, Author ...
Title Author Artist Released ISBN Ref
The Hound of the Baskervilles Ian Edginton I. N. J. Culbard May 2009 ISBN 978-0-9558169-7-0
A Study in Scarlet ISBN 978-0-9558169-6-3 [17]
The Sign of the Four September 2009 ISBN 978-0-9558169-1-8
The Valley of Fear ISBN 978-0-9558169-9-4
Close

Rachel Cooke reviewed A Study in Scarlet for The Observer and concluded:

Culbard and Edginton are adept at concision, leaving out nothing that is crucial and excising much that isn't. I relished every page and thought how this book would be the perfect primer for any child whose parents feel them to be just on the cusp of potential Holmes worship.[17]

Graphic Biography

More information Title, Author ...
Title Author Artist Released ISBN Ref
Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness Reinhard Kleist October 2009 ISBN 0-8109-8463-6 [18]
Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson Will Bingley Antony Hope-Smith October 2010 ISBN 978-1906838119 [19]
Kiki de Montparnasse José-Louis Bocquet Catel Muller February 2011 ISBN 978-1906838256 [20]
Baby's in Black: The Story of Astrid Kirchherr & Stuart Sutcliffe Arne Bellstorf March 2011 ISBN 978-1906838263 [21]
Castro Reinhard Kleist July 2011 ISBN 978-1906838324 [22]
Hellraisers Robert Sellers JAKe October 2011 ISBN 978-1906838362 [23]
A Chinese Life Li Kunwu & Philippe Ôtié Li Kunwu July 2012 ISBN 978-1906838553 [24]
The Boxer Reinhard Kleist March 2014 ISBN 978-1906838775 [25]
An Olympic Dream: The Story of Samia Yusuf Omar Reinhard Kleist March 2016 ISBN 978-1910593097 [26]
Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie Anne Martinetti & Guillaume Lebeau Alexandre Franc May 2016 ISBN 978-1910593110 [27]
The Trial of Roger Casement Fionnuala Doran September 2016 ISBN 978-1910593202 [28]
Haddon Hall: When David Invented Bowie Néjib February 2017 ISBN 978-1910593264 [29]
Nick Cave: Mercy on Me Reinhard Kleist September 2017 ISBN 978-1910593363 [30]
Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani Jérôme Tubiana Alexandre Franc March 2019 ISBN 978-1910593660 [31]
Isadora Julie Birmant Clément Oubrerie September 2019 ISBN 978-1910593691 [32]
Mozart in Paris Frantz Duchazeau September 2019 ISBN 978-1910593721 [33]
Zátopek Jan Novák Jaromír 99 October 2020 ISBN 978-1910593882 [34]
Buñuel: In the Labyrinth of the Turtles Fermín Solís April 2021 ISBN 978-1910593844 [35]
Orwell Pierre Christin Sébastien Verdier May 2021 ISBN 978-1910593875 [36]
Knock Out! Reinhard Kleist July 2021 ISBN 978-1910593868 [37]
Alice Guy: First Lady of Film José-Louis Bocquet Catel Muller July 2022 ISBN 978-1914224034 [38]
Close

Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...
YearAward CategoryBook Creator(s)Result
2011 Kitschies The Black Tentacle[4] N/A N/A Won
2013Angoulême International Comics Festival Special Jury Prize [39]The Nao of Brown Glyn DillonWon
2015British Comic Awards Best Book [40]The Motherless Oven Rob DavisWon
2016Eisner Award Best Graphic Album [41]Ruins Peter KuperWon
2020Angoulême International Comics Festival SNCF Polar Prize 2020 [42]Tumult John Harris Dunning & Michael KennedyNominated
2020 Excelsior Award Excelsior Award Black[43] Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani Jérôme Tubiana & Alexandre Franc Won
Close

See also

Notes

References

External links

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI