Hear ye, hear ye, The fifth annual Saints & Sinners literary festival is taking place this weekend in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Saints & Sinners is run as a benefit for NO/AIDS, and will include master classes and interviews featuring Ellen Hart, Nancy Garden, Jewelle Gomez, and William J. Mann, among others; as well as panel discussions that include “Writing After Your World Is Washed Away” and “Two Sides to Every Story: Words and Images in Graphic Novels and Comics.”

I was invited to be a participant in the latter panel but was unable to spare time from A.D. Nonetheless, if you’re in NOLA this weekend, I encourage you to attend. Here’s the deal: “What are the opportunities and challenges in telling a story with a combination of text and pictures? In this panel, we’ll hear from writers who have worked in both prose and comic formats, and from comics creators who have dabbled in picture-free prose. How do the different formats affect the creative process? How does the collaboration between writer and artist work? What trends are emerging in queer comics? And how can would-be graphic novelists and comics writers find collaborators and break into publishing on the web and in print?”

Panelists: Abby Denson, Tim Fish, and Kelly McQuain.
Moderator: Jim Gladstone.
St. Mary’s Salon, 1st Floor, Bourbon Orleans

Also of comics-related note at the festival is “Wonder Woman The Musical!” Elizabeth Whitney presents her solo performance on Saturday, May 12, 4pm at The Parade. When the famed Amazon Princess Diana resigns from the U.S. military and finds that life on Paradise Island no longer suits her, she decides to collaborate with her talent agent and partner, and reinvent herself as a karaoke lounge singer and take her Magic Lasso Comeback Tour on the road. For more information on Elizabeth Whitney’s performance work, see www.elizabethwhitney.com. This performance is included with your Festival Pass or $10 at the door.