In advance of the September 2024 release of our recently announced collected edition Kill Shakespeare: First Folio, which collects the entire initial series, and our first original graphic novel, Romeo vs. Juliet (due out in November), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Del Col was at the Diamond Book Distributors booth at the American Library Association annual conference and exhibition in San Diego on June 27 through July 2.

“It was so great to return to ALA – it had been about 7-8 years since I had attended – and it felt like a homecoming for me. I had three very successful signings [at the Diamond Book Distributors booth at ALA] and we completely ran out of books. Everyone wanted a copy of Romeo vs. Juliet! It was a great collection of those already fans of the Kill Shakespeare series alongside new readers intrigued by the title and the premise. And I have to say, the large majority were very much Team Juliet…” Del Col said.

He participated in signings at the booth and in a roundtable discussion (dubbed the “Magical Tea,” which focused on graphic novels) with top librarians. In addition to hundreds of copies of the Free Comic Book Day version of Romeo vs. Juliet – which serves as a perfect sample chapter for the graphic novel – Del Col and the DBD team also gave away Romeo vs. Juliet t-shirts.

“The Magical Tea roundtable organized by the ALA Graphic Novel team there was an incredible event. It featured around 150 of the top librarians and just over a dozen top creators. We each have 5-6 minutes to talk to tables of 8-10 librarians about our titles, and each table was so friendly and into Kill Shakespeare and Romeo vs. Juliet (it helped that a number of them were already fans). The organization was impeccable and it was one of the most effective events I’ve ever experienced at a show in my entire career,” Del Col said.