By: Allyson Mower

Happy birthday to Craig Thompson, the award-winning author of several graphic novels including Blankets, Good-bye Chunky Rice, and Habibi. I first learned about Craig Thompson from OIF’s Kristin Pekoll. I have since become quite intrigued by Craig Thompson’s works, especially Blankets, given its autobiographical focus. Mr. Thompson’s early life, according to an interview with Mother Jones, revolved around fundamentalist Christian ethics. His parents censored his access to popular media, but the Sunday comics fell under their radar. Blankets became his way of coming out–as he puts it–as a non-believer.

Born in Wisconsin on Sept 21, 1975, Craig came of age during the grunge 90s and like may Gen Xers, sought to find meaningful work. For Craig, that meant being a storyteller and an artist and he has had success. He currently lives in Portland, OR, has developed a devoted fan base, and has received several awards. He writes daily and posts intermittently about his work on his blog http://www.dootdootgarden.com/

Allyson Mower, MA, MLIS is Head of Scholarly Communication & Copyright at the University of Utah Marriott Library. She’s very curious about curiosity, what drives people to uncover information, and how libraries of all types create demand for knowledge. As a tenured faculty member, she researches the history of academic freedom — a kind of intellectual freedom — and the history of authorship and scholarly communication at the institution. She provides the U of U community and the general public with information, tools, and services related to both copyright and publishing. Allyson was a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2008, was nominated as a 2012 Society for Scholarly Publishing Emerging Leader, and served as the U of U Academic Senate President in 2014. Find her on Twitter @allysonmower.