Tillie Walden

Tillie Walden
Walden in 2018
Walden in 2018
Born1996 (age 27–28)
OccupationCartoonist, author
NationalityAmerican
EducationCenter for Cartoon Studies
GenreGraphic novel
Notable worksSpinning
Notable awards
Website
tilliewalden.com

Tillie Walden (born 1996)[1] is an American cartoonist who has published several graphic novels and a webcomic.[2] Walden won the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work for her graphic novel Spinning, making her one of the youngest Eisner Award winners ever.[3] She was named Vermont's cartoonist laureate for 2023-2026, making her the state's youngest-ever cartoonist laureate.[4][5]

Early life

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Walden grew up in New Jersey and Austin, Texas. She was a competitive figure skater.[6]

Walden is named after her paternal grandmother, an artist who died before Walden was born. Walden's first comic was a black-and-white comic "about never knowing her [grandmother] but following in her footsteps.[7] A workshop led by Scott McCloud was a major turning point in her career; it "really inspired [her] to draw some comics, and around this time [she] was also becoming increasingly bored with fine art."[8]

Growing up, Walden read a lot of manga, which had an influence on her work, in particular the art of Yoshihiro Togashi, Osamu Tezuka, and Rumiko Takahashi.[9] Walden has also said, "Studio Ghibli has completely shaped my visual vocabulary and how I think about stories."[6] Walden has also been influenced by graphic memoirs, such as Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Blankets by Craig Thompson, and Stitches by David Small.[9]

Walden began putting her comics and drawings on her website, and was discovered while still in high school by British publisher Avery Hill Publishing, who worked with Walden to publish her first graphic novel, The End of Summer.[7]

Career

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Walden's debut graphic novel, The End of Summer, was published by Avery Hill in June 2015. It is told from the viewpoint of Lars, a feeble boy who lives in a fantastical palace and has a giant cat named Nemo.[7] In an WORDS interview with Paul Gravett, she dedicates the book to her twin brother, John, describing the main characters as being a mishmash of her and John.[8] Walden won the 2016 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist for The End of Summer.[10]

Her second graphic novel, I Love This Part, was published by Avery Hill in November 2015 and tells the story of two teenage girls who fall in love.[7] Walden won the 2016 Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent for I Love This Part.[10] The novel was also nominated for the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue/One-Shot.[11]

Walden's third graphic novel, A City Inside, was published by Avery Hill in 2016.[12] It won the 2016 Broken Frontier Award for Best One-Shot.[13]

Spinning, Walden's first graphic novel memoir about her years as a competitive ice skater, was published by First Second Books in September 2017.[14] Originally, Spinning was Walden's thesis work for the Center for Cartoon Studies during her second year of schooling there.[9] It won the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work, making Walden one of the youngest Eisner Award winners ever at 22.[3]

Walden's On a Sunbeam, a science fiction webcomic, was nominated for the 2017 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic.[1][15] The webcomic was adapted into a graphic novel that was released in October 2018 by First Second Books, with the UK edition published by Avery Hill Publishing.[1][16][17] Set in space, the story revolves around a crew in charge of restoring old structures. As Mia, the newest member, gets to know her team, in the present timeline, a flashback occurs to her past at school, where she fell in love with another student named Grace.[18] The graphic novel won the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize.[19]

To commemorate International Women's Day, Walden's piece "Minutes" was featured as a Google Doodle on March 8, 2018.[20]

In 2019, Walden published Are You Listening? from First Second Books, which earned her the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album-New.[21]

In 2020, Walden published Alone in Space: A Collection, which compiled her previously published I Love This Part and A City Inside, as well as several previously unpublished comics, sketches, and works from magazines, including her piece What It's Like To Be Gay In An All-Girls Middle School.[22]

In 2021, Walden was approached by Skybound to write a trilogy of graphic novels centering Clementine from The Walking Dead. Clementine: Book One was released in 2022, while Book Two released in 2023. Book Three is expected to release in 2025.[23][24][25]

In 2022, Walden and Emma Hunsinger published My Parents Won't Stop Talking! from First Second Books.[26]

In 2023, Walden illustrated the graphic novel Junior High, written by Tegan and Sara. A sequel, Crush was published in 2024.[27]

In May 2024, Walden took up residency at the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History to write a graphic novel about the relationship between Sylvia Drake and Charity Bryant. The Sheldon Museum has many records from the couple, which Walden used to write the novel. The project was commissioned by Vermont Humanities and the Vermont branch of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The book is expected to release in 2025.[28]

Personal life

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Walden has known she was a lesbian since she was 5.[14][29] Before she came out, Walden avoided including queer characters in her stories, feeling that she "couldn't draw openly gay characters if [she] was still scared to be openly gay."[7]

Walden has spoken of her father's influence on her entrance into the comics industry. As she said in an interview, "My dad has been the behind-the-scenes guy for my entire comics career. I realized that when I start looking, he’s been everywhere."[6]

Walden is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies. She also works as a professor there.[30][1]

She is married to fellow graphic novelist Emma Hunsinger, whom she met when they were both attending the Center for Cartoon Studies.[31][32] On October 4, 2023, the same day as Clementine: Book Two was released, Walden gave birth to her and Hunsinger's first son, Walter.[33] Walden has two cats named Stanley and Tatiana.[34]

Published works

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Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "The Next Frontier: Tillie Walden's Webcomic On a Sunbeam Will Be Adapted to a Graphic Novel". Bookish. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on February 21, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  2. ^ Micheline, JA (September 19, 2017). "Tillie Walden: young graphic novelist breaks the ice with memoir Spinning". The Guardian.
  3. ^ a b Cavna, Michael (July 23, 2018). "Women make history, and receive overdue recognition, at 2018 Eisner Awards". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Cyrus, Connor; Meyer, Tedra (March 16, 2023). "Tillie Walden started drawing at 16. Ten years later, she's the cartoonist laureate of Vermont". Vermont Public. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  5. ^ Hauser, Brooke (March 24, 2023). "Tillie Walden will be Vermont's fifth — and youngest — 'cartoonist laureate'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Wong, Alex (October 4, 2017). ""Everything I Had to Say about My Life Is in That Book": An Interview with Tillie Walden". The Comics Journal.
  7. ^ a b c d e Landsbaum, Claire (November 16, 2015). "Tillie Walden on the Queer Characters and Emotional Turmoil of Her New Comic, I Love This Part". Vulture. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Gravett, Paul (March 6, 2016). "Tillie Walden: That In-Between State". ArtReview. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Brown, Hillary (September 26, 2017). "Spinning's Tillie Walden on the Power of Pursuing and Ending Childhood Dreams". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Cavna, Michael (September 18, 2016). "Small Press Expo: Here are your 2016 Ignatz Award winners, including new talent Tillie Walden". The Washington Post.
  11. ^ Cavna, Michael (April 19, 2016). "2016 Eisner Awards: 'The Oscars of comics' announces record number of nominations for women". The Washington Post.
  12. ^ "A City Inside". Publishers Weekly. July 25, 2016.
  13. ^ Russell, Ally (June 12, 2017). "A City Inside – Tillie Walden Secures Her Place as One of the Leading Voices in Comics Today". Broken Frontier.
  14. ^ a b "Spinning". Kirkus Reviews. July 16, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  15. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (May 2, 2017). "The 2017 Eisner Award Nominees Revealed". IGN.
  16. ^ "Kirkus Review: On a Sunbeam". Kirkus Reviews. August 20, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  17. ^ "Behold! Summer's Quietus Comics Round Up Column". The Quietus. June 1, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Walden, Tillie (October 4, 2018). On A Sunbeam. Avery Hill Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781910395370.
  19. ^ a b MacDonald, Heidi (April 17, 2019). "Awards Watch: Pulitzers, Doug Wright Awards, Studio Prize winners, The Reuben, LA Times Book Prize". ComicsBeat.
  20. ^ Mejia, Zameena (March 7, 2018). "Here's how Google is celebrating International Women's Day this year". CNBC. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  21. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (July 25, 2020). "2020 Eisner Award Winners Revealed | Comic-Con 2020". IGN. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Alone in Space". Avery Hill Publishing. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  23. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (June 24, 2021). "Skybound launches Comet line of comics for young readers". Comics Beat. Superlime Media LLC. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  24. ^ Garrity, Shaenon K. (May 12, 2023). "U.S. Book Show 2023: Tillie Walden". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  25. ^ Morales, Carlos (August 28, 2024). "Skybound Comet Reveals New Slate of 2025 YA Graphic Novel Launches". Comic Watch. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "My Parents Won't Stop Talking!". Macmillan. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  27. ^ "Tegan and Sara: Crush by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illustrated by Tillie Walden". CBC. September 11, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  28. ^ Hogan, Emily (February 29, 2024). "Graphic novel of one of the earliest lesbian couples in America draws from Henry Sheldon Museum archives". The Middlebury Campus. Middlebury College. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  29. ^ Carr, Jan (September 15, 2017). "Spinning Book Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  30. ^ "CCS Faculty and Staff". The Center for Cartoon Studies. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  31. ^ Ramirez, Amanda (July 25, 2024). "'Playing the Long Game': PW Talks with Emma Hunsinger". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  32. ^ Dueben, Alex (April 12, 2022). "Smash Pages Q&A with Emma Hunsinger + Tillie Walden". Smash Pages. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  33. ^ Walden, Tillie [@tilliewalden] (October 6, 2023). "Clementine book 2 came out on October 4th! I'm really proud of it, and so excited to make the final book in the series. But I haven't talked about it a lot because on October 4th I also gave birth to our son Walter. Me and @edhunsinger are moms!" – via Instagram.
  34. ^ Gopalan, Nisha (January 13, 2023). "Cartoonist Tillie Walden's Cats Try to Destroy Her Life's Work". Kinship. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  35. ^ "The End of Summer by Tillie Walden". Avery Hill Publishing. June 14, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  36. ^ "I Love This Part (Hardback Edition) by Tillie Walden". Avery Hill Publishing. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  37. ^ "A City Inside (Hardback Edition) by Tillie Walden". Avery Hill Publishing. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  38. ^ Valdez, Kiara (September 12, 2017). "Happy Book Birthday to Spinning!". First Second Books. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019.
  39. ^ "Mini Meditations on Creativity". light at the crossroads. Liminal 11. March 16, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  40. ^ "On a Sunbeam". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  41. ^ "Are You Listening?". Macmillan. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  42. ^ "YOUR FIRST LOOK AT TILLIE WALDEN'S CLEMENTINE BOOK ONE". Image Comics. November 1, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  43. ^ "Tegan and Sara: Junior High". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  44. ^ "YOUR FIRST LOOK AT TILLIE WALDEN'S CLEMENTINE BOOK TWO". Image Comics. January 17, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  45. ^ "Tegan and Sara: Crush". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  46. ^ Salmon, Will (November 18, 2024). "Clementine Book Three promises a "heart-wrenching finale" to The Walking Dead spinoff". GamesRadar+. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
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