Ariel Schrag
Encyclopedia
Ariel Schrag is an American cartoonist
and television writer who achieved critical recognition at an unusually early age for her autobiographical comics
.
in Berkeley, California
, Schrag self-published her first comic series, Awkward, depicting events from her freshman year, originally selling copies to friends and family. Slave Labor Graphics
subsequently reprinted Awkward as a graphic novel
, followed by three more books based on her next three years of school: Definition, Potential, and Likewise. The books were republished by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster
in 2008 and 2009. The books tell stories of family life, going to concerts, experimenting with drugs, high school crushes, and coming out as a bisexual and later as a lesbian
.
Schrag was nominated for the 1998 Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent (administered by the Friends of Lulu
).
Killer Films is producing a movie adaptation of Potential; Schrag has written the screenplay.
Schrag graduated from Berkeley High School in 1998. She graduated from Columbia University
with a bachelor's degree
in English
in 2003, and has continued to work as a cartoonist.
The documentary Confession: A Film About Ariel Schrag was released in 2004. It explores the then-23-year-old Schrag's world in which she "negotiates fame, obsesses about disease, and discusses the way she sees as a dyke
comic book artist."
Schrag was a writer for the third and fourth seasons of the Showtime series The L Word
'".
Schrag is currently a writer for the HBO series How To Make It In America.
Schrag lives in Brooklyn, NY.
s list of "Forty under Forty" out media professionals in its June–July 2009 issue.
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and television writer who achieved critical recognition at an unusually early age for her autobiographical comics
Autobiographical comics
Autobiographical comics are autobiography in the form of comic books or comic strips. The form first became popular in the underground comics movement and has since become more widespread...
.
Biography
While attending high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, Schrag self-published her first comic series, Awkward, depicting events from her freshman year, originally selling copies to friends and family. Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
subsequently reprinted Awkward as a graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, followed by three more books based on her next three years of school: Definition, Potential, and Likewise. The books were republished by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
in 2008 and 2009. The books tell stories of family life, going to concerts, experimenting with drugs, high school crushes, and coming out as a bisexual and later as a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
.
Schrag was nominated for the 1998 Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent (administered by the Friends of Lulu
Friends of Lulu
Friends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, founded in 1994 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry...
).
Killer Films is producing a movie adaptation of Potential; Schrag has written the screenplay.
Schrag graduated from Berkeley High School in 1998. She graduated from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in 2003, and has continued to work as a cartoonist.
The documentary Confession: A Film About Ariel Schrag was released in 2004. It explores the then-23-year-old Schrag's world in which she "negotiates fame, obsesses about disease, and discusses the way she sees as a dyke
Dyke (slang)
Dyke is slang terminology referring to a lesbian or lesbianism. It originated as a derogatory label for a masculine woman, and this usage still exists. However, some attempt to use it in a manner they see as positive, or simply as a neutral synonym for lesbian...
comic book artist."
Schrag was a writer for the third and fourth seasons of the Showtime series The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
'".
Schrag is currently a writer for the HBO series How To Make It In America.
Schrag lives in Brooklyn, NY.
In popular culture
Schrag was listed in The AdvocateThe Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
s list of "Forty under Forty" out media professionals in its June–July 2009 issue.