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Cheshire’s Weaver Words literature festival offers cartoon workshops from Colin Shelbourn

By John Freeman on March 27, 2016

Colin Shelbourn: Picture Steve Barber.

This year’s Weaver Words literature festival in Frodsham, Cheshire will include cartoon workshops for both adults and teenagers, and children, too, run by Lake District-based comic creator and illustrator Colin Shelbourn.

Sharpen your wit as well as your pencils for a fantastic session on how to draw cartoons with Colin. No experience is necessary as Colin will expertly guide aspiring artists through all the basics, from drawing cartoon people and animals to thinking up those funny one liners.

Colin was a huge hit when he appeared at the 2012 Weaver Words festival and this year’s sessions are bound to be popular. The editorial cartoonist for the Lakes newspaper The Westmorland Gazette, he’s the author of more than a dozen books, including a step-by-step guide to Drawing Cartoons and his cartoons have appeared in newspapers, magazines and as top-selling postcards.

He has taught on cartoon workshops for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (and regularly contributes to that event’s “Windows Trail”), HF Holidays, the Natural History Museum, Leeds City Library, Blackpool Art Gallery and many others.

Weaver Words, Frodsham’s Literature Festival, is back with five days of fantastic talks, events, outings and workshops for you to enjoy (6th – 10th April), many linked to the festival theme of The Good Life – happiness and well-being.

Performances by Poet Roger McGough, TV historian Dan Cruickshank and footballing legend Neville Southall are just some of the highlights.

• Childrens (ages 8-13) session 2.00 – 4.00pm Friday, 8 April 2016, Frodsham Community Centre. Tickets: £5.00 per child. Call the Box Office on 0845 557 7469 or click here to order online

• Adult and teenager cartoon session 10.00am – 12.00pm Saturday, 9 April, Frodsham Community Centre. Tickets: Adults £10, including tea/coffee. Children (under 18) £5. Call the Box Office on 0845 557 7469 or click here to order online

• More about Colin Shelbourn at http://shelbourn.com

• Click here to see the whole Weaver Words programme

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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.