The librarians are coming! The San Diego Public Library is once again teaming with Comic-Con International to organize the Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians. CCEL will be held July 18–22 at the Shiley Special Events Suite at the San Diego Central Library, a few blocks away from the San Diego Convention Center.

The San Diego Public Library programming and special events manager, Erwin Magbanua, told PW a new event has been added this year: the Comics and Libraries Fair, a selection of tables featuring librarians offering presentations on how they use comics in various ways—from collection development to promoting literacy and hosting pop culture events—in their respective libraries. The Comics and Libraries Fair will be held at 1 p.m. on July 19 at Shiley. Here is a select listing of panels for each day of CCEL. A complete schedule can be found at the San Diego Public Library website.

Thursday, July 19

10–11 a.m. “Border Narratives: Voices from Beyond the Wall.” Speakers include Ricardo Padilla (executive director, Latino Comics Expo), Zeke Peña (illustrator, Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide), and Isabel Quintero (author, Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide); moderated by Chloe Ramos-Peterson (library sales, Image Comics).

11 a.m.–noon “Beyond Wakanda: Intersectional Afrofuturism.” Panelists include Kelly Besser (archivist, UCLA Library Special Collections), Dalena Hunter (Bunche Center for African American Studies, UCLA), and Shani Miller (metadata and digital processing coordinator, UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive).

Friday, July 20

2–3 p.m. “Trends in Graphic Novel Publishing.” Panelists include publishing veterans Peggy Burns (publisher, Drawn & Quarterly), Margot Wood (director of sales, Oni Press), and Emily Meehan (director, Disney Publishing Worldwide).

Saturday, July 21

1–2 p.m. “A Crash Course on European Comics.” Panelists include Mike Kennedy (Lion Forge), Zerocalcare (Kobane Calling), Whitney Leopard (editor, BOOM! Studios), Efa (illustrator, Monet), and Michele Foschini (chief creative officer, BAO Publishing); moderated by Karen Green (Columbia University Library).

Sunday, July 22

2–3 p.m. “Cultivating a Comic Book Culture in Academic Librarianship.” Panelists include Raymond Pun (librarian, California State University, Fresno), Alison Mandaville (professor of English, California State University, Fresno), Michelle Pratt (library specialist, formerly with Beaverbrook City Schools), and Jenny Banh (professor of anthropology, California State University, Fresno).