| Status | Defunct, c. 2016 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founders | Kenny Penman and James Hamilton |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | London |
| Distribution | Turnaround Publisher Services[1][2] |
| Key people | Kenny Penman, Iz Rips |
| Publication types | Books, comic books |
| Imprints | Chalk Marks[3] |
| Official website | www |
Blank Slate Books (BSB) was a publishing company based in the United Kingdom. It published primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections, with an emphasis on new work by British artists and translated work by European artists.[4] The books it published were noted for their "indie-friendly" content, and were frequently by small press artists whose initial work was self-published. The name of the company was a pun on "drawing" or "writing" on a blackboard.
BSB was one of the few dedicated original comics and graphic novel publishers in the UK.
Blank Slate Books (BSB) was founded in 2008 by Kenny Penman and partner James Hamilton.[5] Penman was inspired by Fantagraphics Books of Seattle, WA, to publish books in the United Kingdom that would do for artists in Britain what Fantagraphics was doing in the USA, championing independent, alternative creators who were not working in superhero or other ‘mainstream’ commercial comics genres. Penman was co-director of Forbidden Planet International,[6] and had plenty of experience with the comics industry. He saw the mission of BSB as "supporting home-grown talent" and providing an essential outlet for work that might not be seen elsewhere.[7] He was primarily motivated to begin the company after encountering the work of Oliver East, who had no real precedents in UK comics.
The publication of Trains Are Mint by East was BSB's first release in 2008[5] and was critically acclaimed, with an Ignatz award nomination following soon after publication.[8]
Other notable releases were Psychiatric Tales by Darryl Cunningham, another non-genre work which was featured on Radio 4,[citation needed] in many newspaper articles,[9] and eventually republished in the USA.[10] The "collective graphic novel" Nelson, edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix,[11] was an experiment that became The Observer newspaper's Graphic Novel of The Month, November 2011.[12] The Times newspaper awarded it Best Graphic Novel of 2011,[citation needed] it was nominated for an Eisner Award,[13][14] and was voted Book of The Year in the British Comic Awards 2012.[15]
Penman's other mission was to introduce titles from European countries to the UK that otherwise might not be seen. He focused primarily upon German titles by creators such as Mawil, Line Hoven, and Ule Osterle, who starred in Germany but little known in the UK.[2] BSB published six to eight books a year.
In 2012 Woodrow Phoenix, himself an acclaimed author of graphic novels, became art director of the company, supervising BSB's design and production.[citation needed]
Blank Slate Books ceased publishing around 2016.