Short Run Comix Festival

Our next festival will take place on Saturday, November 7th, 2026 at Seattle Design Center.

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Festival Programming Schedule

In an age of online living and digital social currency, the importance of up close and personal connections is greater than ever. Whether you’re an independent comic artist looking for like-minded peers, a collector of unique comic books you won’t find anywhere else, or a fan of weird comic art looking to meet your favorite artists from Instagram, it’s more than worth it to visit Short Run on Saturday, Nov. 7th. For 14 years, Short Run Comix Festival has been a confluence of professional artists and casual hobbyists who look forward to a community gathering not watered down by corporatization (please do not call us a “comic-con”!!) Come join the DIY takeover of the Seattle Design Center in Georgetown!  Read more…

Kelso Travel Grants for Exhibitors 2026

 

Katie Kelso was a friend of Short Run, and a smart, fun, world traveler who passed away in 2017. We honor her legacy with these grants that hopefully remove some of the burden of travel costs for festival exhibitors. These exceptional artists are coming from the UK, Ohio, New York, and Wisconsin. Please visit their tables at the festival on Saturday, Nov. 7th. Lu Fraser/wetbog, Frankie Merrill, Alec Valerius, Derick Jones

Exhibitor List 2026

 

Thanks to all who applied to be an exhibitor, we appreciate your interest and regret that we can’t fit more artists into the venue. Here’s the roster for 2026:

2dcloud, AC*DC Comics, A. T. Pratt, Aaron Lefler Comix, Abby Kacen,  adam de souza, Agnes Lee, Alden Wild, Alec Valerius, Alex Graham, Alexandra Rügler, Allison Vu, Alley Cat Press, Amonda Kallenbach, Amy Camber, Amy Martin, Andy Hartzell, ANEMONE, Angela Fanche/Bernadette Magazine, Applied Cartooning Lab at CCS, Asuka Ohsawa, Audra McNamee and Allia Service, August Laybourn

Beatrix Urkowitz, Ben Sears, Benny Johnson, Boya Sun, Brandon Lehmann, Bread Lee, Brett Hamil, Bruce Simon, Bulgilhan Press Read more…

Exhibitor Information

Things to do in advance: 

Book your flight or train

You will be flying into Sea-Tac Airport, which is a 25 minute cab drive or a 45 minute light rail ride into downtown Seattle. Light Rail is accessed via a walkway from Baggage Claim, across a skybridge, follow signs to Link Light Rail. There is only 1 line that goes North to South, when you board, make sure you are going North towards the city center. 

The Amtrak station is located on the edge of Pioneer Square, also considered part of downtown.  Read more…

Trailer Blaze 2026 (Our 10th annual!)

Our 10th annual Trailer Blaze comics residency concluded on April 17th. What an incredible week with artists from all over the country, and one from Germany!

Residents included: Iona Fox, Julia Gootzeit, Tine Fetz, Verónica Velázquez-Avilés, Rae Whitlock, Glynnis Fawkes, Kat Sun; invited artists Christina Lee, Amelia Greenhall; and 2 local alumni mentors Jessica Hoffman and Kelly Froh. Read more…

Trailer Blaze 2024

Our 8th Trailer Blaze comics residency concluded on April 19th. We had an incredible week on the coast! We drew in our trailers and rooms and at picnic tables in the sun, spent many hours in the sauna, took long walks on the beach (and one plunge! A wave took Madeline’s glasses!), were visited often by Mr. Big (the tiniest dog) and Meatball (the campus cat).  Alex harvested velella velella from the beach and roasted them with salt as an appetizer. We had delectable group dinners on the top floor and balcony, and Julia built a fire for us in the outdoor fireplace. There were side trips to the Antique Mall and Cape Disappointment, but for the most part, work happened: comic pages of many sizes on many kinds of paper, ideas organized on Post-It notes, outlines typed up, and breakthroughs were made. Read more…

Trailer Blaze 2023

Another wonderful week at The Sou’Wester Lodge for our 7th annual Trailer Blaze Comics Residency, with 13 artists from all over – Seattle, Philadelphia, Hiroshima, Norfolk, Portland, Omaha, Haida Gwaii, Osoyoos! Read more…

DASH GRANT recipient 2022 – Julia Wald

Local artist and illustrator Julia Wald is this year’s DASH GRANT recipient! We were really excited about her story synapsis and hyper-color drawing style of her upcoming comic, Uncle Scam’s Army Navy Surplus, an autobiography of their first job out of school in Buffalo, working at an army navy surplus store where they sold military gear to doomsday preppers, zombie cosplayers, and neo Nazis. This first part of a much longer story will premiere at Short Run on Nov. 5th. Read more…

Trailer Blaze 2022

Trailer Blaze 2022 really, truly happened after a 2 year postponement, and it made the experience even more special. 

This year we welcomed new residents Veronika Muchitsch (UK), Melanie Stevens (OR), Krusty Wheatfield (CA), Lenora Yerkes (DC), Janna Morton (MD), Rachel Scheer (Seattle); invited artists Lydia Fu (IL), Katie Fricas (NY); alumni, local mentors Mita Mahato, E.T. Russian, Lauren Armstrong, Megan Kelso, and Kelly Froh.  Read more…