The Toadstool Bookshops of Keene, Milford, and Peterborough, NH

Mendleman, the main character in Sturm's Market Day, is a rug-maker. Mendleman's plaintive "how I long to be in my studio surrendering to the steady rhythms of the work" will feel familiar to any artist who has struggled, as Mendleman does, to sell his works in the marketplace. The quiet starkness of Sturm's drawings depicting the landscape in which Mendleman's story takes place contrasts with the emotional rollercoaster he rides during the 24 hours of the tale.

James Sturm is one of comics' most energetic, entertaining, and active artists and educators working today. He is currently the Director of The Center for Cartoon Studies, a two-year cartooning school located in White River Junction, Vermont. He is the award-winning cartoonist of the books Golem's Mighty Swing, James Sturm's America, Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow, and Adventures in Cartooning.

On Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 2:00 p.m., K.G. Schalhoub will talk about and autograph his book, a lively and intriguing science fiction story called The First, which is set in the 2030s. John Carlisle was only eleven years old and didn’t know much about the current technology of the scientific world. What he did know was what made his life fun and exciting. His world was one of friends and multitasking.
What he did not know or could not know was that the Belmont Institute in New Mexico had different plans for him. Neural implants and the consequences of future technology were in his future. He was about to become part of an adventure that only a dreamer would believe existed.

K.G. Schalhoub is a Keene, NH resident and works in the medical products manufacturing field. His background in the biosciences and his work in the technological arena provide him with a unique perspective for the future.