The Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) has announced its “From Palestine” project, which includes a programming strand at its annual comics gathering in Bowness-on-Windermere later this month (26th – 28th September 2025).
The Festival will see the launch of three new comics by artists from Gaza, to be published by LICAF, following up on the previous publication of the highly acclaimed collection of cartoons, Safaa and the Tent, by Safaa Odah, translated by Nada Hodali.
All four titles will be on sale at the Festival and all profits from the sale of these works will go to the creators.
Palestinian cartoonist and caricaturist Mohammad Sabaaneh, an active member in the Cartoon Movement, will be launching his book, 30 Seconds from Gaza, in English, at a special event over the weekend that will also see the launch of the Qusasat comics anthology, Strategies of Surviving by Abod Nasser and Waiting Rituals by Khaled Jarada.
At a summer camp near Bethlehem in August 2025, 13 young Palestinian artists created a new digital anthology called Qusasat (“Snippets”), co-led by Mollie Ray from the UK. This was the culmination of a new collaboration between LICAF and the Power Group in Bethlehem, supported by The Amos Trust.
The anthology includes the work of Hana Ibrahim Mhani, Dalia Nidal Dar Abed Alhai, Tuleen Hanna Asmari, Shahd Izz Aldeen Alruzze, Nermin Anees Naifeh, Natalie Alz, Karma Ihab Barghothi, Ward Nayef Al-Hantouli, Majd Rafat Wahbeh, Abdalrahim Mutaz Zalloum, Mohammad Majed Al-Raie and Dima Iyas Nassar.
Sliman Mukarker, co-founder of Power, will be on stage to help launch this brilliant new anthology, with a free copy of the anthology for every audience member.
Strategies of Surviving is a powerful work by talented animator and illustrator Abod Nasser, which will only be available in very limited numbers. He says of his work that his sketches are not meant to avoke pity “nor to scenes of war and suffering”, but are about the Gazan in understanding life… “When he was forced to reinvent it from scratch.”
“This special edition is a wonderful opportunity to show Gazans as dreamers, not just as breaking news,” says Abod Nasser. “I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”
LICAF is also proud to have been working with one of the Palestinian comics scene’s leading lights, Khaled Jarada, who is also from Gaza, now based in Paris, who will join the event online to discuss his new comic, Waiting Rituals, a carefully constructed “concertina comic”, mentored by UK artist Lucy Sullivan.
Last, but by no means least, award-winning cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh will talk about his most recent book, 30 Seconds from Gaza, recently published in English by Olive Branch Press, which will formally launched at LICAF at this event hosted by Paul Gravett.
Capturing and drawing scenes from videos posted on social media was a decision Sabaaneh made as a way to archive moments and information that are expected to be banned and erased later. Sabaaneh’s political cartoons portray a world in which injustice is unending, but so is the resilience of the Palestinian people. 30 Seconds from Gaza is an artistic triumph and a powerful testament to Palestinian sumud (steadfastness). It is proof of art’s capacity to make visible what oppressors want the world to forget.
Safaa and the Tent – limited copies of the first edition available at the Festival and through the LICAF Etsy store – Qusasat and Waiting Rituals are published by the Lakes International Comic Art Festival amd will be available to buy via From the Festival.
All profits from the sale of the books published will go to the comic creators involved.
“We’re honoured to present these powerful works by such a range of Palestinian talents at a very troubled time,” says Festival Director Julie Tait. “LICAF has highlighted the challenging and important work of a wide range of diverse creators since its launch in 2013, and this year is no different.”
Mohammad Sabaaneh is a Palestinian cartoonist and a former political prisoner in Israel. He is the author of White and Black and Power Born of Dreams and is a Middle East representative for the Cartoonists Rights Network International. His work has been published in the Middle East Monitor, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Al-Hayat al-Jadida and many others. He teaches art at the Arab American University of Palestine.
Born in 1996 in Gaza, Palestine, Khaled Jarada, who will be appearing remotely for this year’s Festival, is an independent visual artist and children’s book illustrator. He has illustrated many children’s books, such as Cane Talk and School Uniform, with several publishing houses. He has worked as an animator, taught art of performance and participated in several local and international exhibitions.
• Tickets for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2025 are on sale here
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival returns to Bowness-on-Windermere Friday 26th – Sunday 28th September 2025
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Announced guests for 2025 in alphabetical order include in alphabetical order, Charlie Adlard, Terry Anderson, Mehdi Annassi, Malika El Barkani, Dan Berry, Abbigayle Bircham, Serge Bloch, Philip Bond, Shelly Bond, Abdel de Bruxelles, Chris Condon, Dagsson, Matthew Dooley, Kate Evans, Mark Hibbett, Khaled Jarada, Pertti Jarla, Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph, Jung, LD Comics, Keli Lark, Michael Lark, Simone Lia, Lorenzo Mattotti, Chris Margerison, Laetitia Marty, Bill Morrison, Grant Morrison, Robbie Morrison, Mike Perkins, Jacob Phillips, Sean Phillips, Will Potter, the Rickard Sisters, Martin Rowson, Mohammad Sabaaneh, Alison Sampson, Chris Shepherd, Lucy Sullivan, Kev F Sutherland, Bryan Talbot, Mary Talbot, The 77, Donya Todd. Craig Thompson, Emma Viecli, and the team from VIZ
• For more on the Lakes International Comic Art Festival’s Comic Development Work please visit Comics Can Change the World at comicscanchangetheworld.com | Follow Comics4Change on BlueSky
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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