Contact: Jerzy Drozd, jerzydrozd@gmail.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Names Interim Executive Director
Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 21, 2020 – Cartoonist and educator Jerzy Drozd has been hired as interim executive director of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), the international showcase for cartoon art that will hold its 6th annual festival Oct. 1-4.
The festival’s founding executive director, writer and critic Tom Spurgeon, died in November.
Drozd is working with Jeff Smith, CXC’s co-founder and artistic director, along with the CXC board of directors, led by Board President Rebecca Perry Damsen, and partner organizations across the city.
“I’m very happy to welcome Jerzy to our CXC family,” said Smith, creator of the BONE graphic novel series. “Both Jerzy and his partner Anne have a long history of working with libraries, literature, kids and comics. We are lucky to have such a qualified, simpatico person stepping up in the role of interim executive director.”
Drozd is a cartoonist who leads workshops for children and teens in libraries and schools, and for teachers who want to bring comics to the classroom. He is a founding member of Kids Read Comics, a nonprofit that organizes the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival (A2CAF), and has served as its programming coordinator since 2009. He lives in central Ohio with his wife, Anne Drozd,
who is the museum coordinator at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. He and Anne are co-authors of the graphic novel SCIENCE COMICS: ROCKETS. They were already deeply involved in CXC, developing the kids and family track of programming for the festival in 2019. “Anne and I have been attending CXC every year since it began, and we were immediately enamored of the event’s spirit,” Drozd said. “It’s inclusive celebration of all forms of comics, the people who make them, and the many institutions that help shape the festival sent a clear message to us: Columbus is a place where cartooning is a revered endeavor. I have a lot of affection for CXC and feel honored to be asked to help achieve its mission.”
The next festival will take place Oct. 1-4, with details on the program and special guests to be announced this spring.
Since CXC’s debut in 2015, special guests have included cartooning legends and up-andcoming talents, including Jaime Hernandez, Carol Tyler, Kyle Baker, Stan Sakai, Raina Telgemeier, Dav Pilkey, Chris Ware, Carta Monir and Katie Skelly, among many others.
CXC aims to provide an international showcase for the best of cartoon art in all its forms, including comics, animation, editorial cartoons, newspaper strips, and beyond, in a city that is a growing center of importance to comics and cartooning. The festival also focuses on helping the next generation of young cartooning talent develop thriving careers that invigorate the industry for years to come.