USA: Jérôme Tubiana on Tour

To coincide with his guest appearance at the Small Press Expo, French journalist Jérôme Tubiana will discuss his landmark work of graphic non-fiction, Guantánamo Kid, at events in Washington DC and New York City. The book tells the astonishing - and deeply troubling - story of Mohammed El-Gharani who, at the age of just 14, became one of Guantánamo Bay's youngest detainees. Written in collaboration with Mohammed El-Gharani, illustrated by Alexandre Franc and endorsed by Amnesty International, it's an extraordinary graphic novel with a fascinating backstory.

This Friday, 13th September, Jérôme Tubiana will discuss the book at the OpenGov Hub in Washington DC (1110 Vermont Ave) in an event co-hosted by Amnesty International and the Justice for Muslims Collective. The conversation will span El-Gharani's life inside and outside of the camp, and the ongoing struggle to have the prison closed. The event is free to attend and open to all - just RSVP here.

On Sunday 15th September, as part of the Small Press Expo's programme, Tubiana joins Andrew Aydin, Ted Rall, Aimée De Jongh and Josh Kramer for a discussion of graphic journalism ("Graphic Journalism: On the Road", 4-5pm, White Flint Auditorium, North Bethesda Marriott). They will explore the peculiar power of the graphic novel to tell real-life stories.

The following week, Tubiana heads to New York for two more events.

On Friday 20th September, he is joined by multimedia artist Laurie Anderson at the French Embassy's Albertine book store (972 Fifth Avenue, NY). Anderson collaborated with Mohammed El-Gharani on an installation and performance piece, “Habeas Corpus”, which took place at the Park Avenue Armory in 2015. Expanding upon her work fusing storytelling and technology, the project interweaved film, sculpture, music and video to examine El-Gharani’s story. The event, which will explore the ways in which artists can give voice to such stories, begins at 6.30pm and is free to attend.

And finally, at the Brooklyn Book Festival, Tubiana joins Ben Passmore and Mark Alan Stamaty for a discussion of comics as satire and witness ("Everything is Horrible", Brooklyn Historical Society Library, 128 Pierrepont St, 12pm).