The GraphicMEMOIRBlog has given me the opportunity to speak with and learn from close to 100 creators across the literary comics world, from the UK and Europe to the US, Canada, and beyond, while also spending time at exhibitions, launches, and festivals.
What has stood out most is how vibrant, ambitious, and internationally connected this creative space is and how many remarkable projects are still searching for routes to reach readers.
When I attended the First Graphic Novel Awards in London in January at Waterstones, Emma Hayley of UK publisher SelfMadeHero spoke about the need for more graphic novel publishers, given the growing volume of strong work emerging in the field.
That stayed with me. Alongside the blog, I began to feel a growing desire to contribute more directly, to help bring projects into readers’ hands rather than only reflect on them.
All Things Connect
In January, Mensch Publishing, a small press in North London founded by publishing veteran Richard Charkin, former CEO of Macmillan and a senior executive at Bloomsbury, published its first graphic novel, All Things Connect by Andrew Squire.
I was introduced to Charkin via a connection and featured Squire’s book on the Graphic Memoir Blog, helping bring it to a wider comics readership. Charkin has spent most of his career in traditional prose publishing, so I was curious about this move into graphic storytelling. He admitted he was on the point of rejecting it, “but something about flicking through the sample pages motivated me to call the author…”
Richard has also described entering this space in unexpectedly expansive terms:
“The discovery of the graphic book community has been a joy… The reception has been terrific from New Zealand, to France, even to Peru.”
What this means for creators and readers
What appeals to me about Mensch is that it is small, direct, and responsive, with Richard Charkin working alongside his son Toby. Decisions happen quickly, creators work directly with the people publishing their books, and projects can move from manuscript to publication without too many layers in between. The model is built around partnership. Rather than large sales teams and layers of process, the focus is on close editorial collaboration, global availability from the outset, and strong royalty terms designed to reward success and create a shared commercial alignment between author and publisher. We cannot offer advances or large sales teams, but we can offer a structure designed to share in the upside.
In the case of All Things Connect, the journey from submission to publication was around three months, reflecting that pace in practice rather than theory. For graphic work, which is often highly visual, personal, and iterative, that speed and flexibility matters.
On my side, I’ve spent the past four years immersed in graphic memoir and speaking with creators through the GraphicMEMOIRBlog, including publishing my own graphic memoir in 2022. That experience has given me a close view of how projects develop from early concept through to finished work, and where the barriers often sit between the two.
Bringing that perspective together with Richard and Toby Charkin’s experience in publishing and distribution feels like a natural alignment: an understanding of how these books are made, combined with the infrastructure to bring them to readers around the world.
This is already beginning to take shape in practice. Following All Things Connect, our next graphic title will be London based creator Teresa Robertson’s Twins, with several more projects expected to follow later this year.
We are looking for submissions
If you have a project you believe deserves a readership, we would love to hear from you. Formal submissions can be sent to enquiries@menschpublishing.com. If you would prefer an informal initial conversation, feel free to contact me directly at sandlerj@yahoo.co.uk .
The GraphicMEMOIRBlog continues
The GraphicMEMOIRBlog will continue with full energy and focus. Interviewing creators, writing about graphic memoir, and engaging with the medium remain central to what I do. This partnership sits alongside that work rather than replacing it.
So exciting! Huge congratulations!
This is fantastic, I'm going to email you now!