Short Run focuses on the medium of comics as a coalescence of art and literature. We believe in the intimate experience of holding a book in your hands. That’s why we highlight artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the world who make alternative comix and self-published, small press, and handmade books of all kinds. We want to ensure that Seattle is considered a destination for small press artists, and a percolator of comics genius. We achieve this vision by:
Organizing events for Seattleites including our annual Short Run Comix Festival, which showcases both emerging and established artists, creating a space for discovery, inspiration, and above all, quality work.
Creating opportunities for artists to foster friendships and mentorships, grow their audience, dedicate time to making new work, fund projects, publish work, and make money as an artist.
Facilitating educational programming for all ages and skill sets in order to invite and support under-represented and diverse perspectives through study and craft of the medium.
We are committed to creating safe spaces where no one is made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account of gender identity or expression, sexual preference, race, ethnicity, age, and physical or mental ability. We strive to create an atmosphere free of harassment and the threat of violence.
Board of Directors
Lylianna Allala
Comics have always been a source of power for Lylianna—from the time her father introduced her to the “Phoenix Saga” from the Marvel Universe to when she discovered the comics of Los Bros Hernandez. On the encouragement of her partner, Josh, Lylianna signed up for a local comics workshop and, through it, developed a confidence in her own artistry. Lylianna works at the intersection of racial justice, climate and environment as the Climate Justice Director for the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment. Her professional background has centered on policy, community engagement, habitat restoration, outdoor recreation, and leadership development. Outside of work, she nurtures her passion for story telling and the natural world as a co-creator of The Growing Old Project, a podcast series exploring what Seattle could look like in the next 50 years for our trees and people to grow old together.
Kelly Froh
Finding a copy of Dirty Plotte by Julie Doucet in a spin rack at Fallout Records in 1994 changed the trajectory of Kelly’s creative interests forever. Making and sharing autobiographical comics and perzines helped her find her community and she has since devoted herself to sustaining and growing that community here in Seattle. Kelly graduated from Emily Carr University of Art & Design in 2006 with a BFA in Fine Arts. She has self-published many mini-comics and zines, including the Ignatz-nominated Stew Brew (in collaboration with her partner Max Clotfelter). Her comics and stories have appeared in The Seattle Weekly, The Seattle Review of Books, Moss, The Stranger, and The Women’s Review of Books. Kelly has performed at the Hugo House’s acclaimed Literary Series, Lit Crawl, Pecha Kucha, On the Boards, APRIL, and Bumbershoot. She is an art instructor and offers household help and companionship to older adults in Seattle through her small business, By Your Side.
McKenna Haley
McKenna is an interdisciplinary artist, lover of DIY productions and spaces, karaoke, gardening, and basset hounds. She has had a hand in producing music, art and other community events in Seattle since 2011 which is how she originally found Short Run. In 2013, fellow Short Run Board Member, Jessica Lopez, told her Short Run was in need of a volunteer with graphic design skills and she has kept up her involvement ever since! She currently hosts a monthly program on Hollow Earth Radio (KHUH 104.9), experiments with functional pottery and digital doodling, and is a Community Engagement Manager at KEXP 90.3 FM.
Megan Kelso
Following a brief stint at art school, Megan completed her B.A. at The Evergreen State College in 1991 
where she studied history and political science. Inspired by the explosion of zines, bands, and DIY art projects in Olympia, she started her Girlhero mini comics which ran for six issues and earned her funding from the Xeric Foundation (the first woman to receive this honor). Comics from Girlhero are compiled in Queen of the Black Black (Highwater Books) and her graphic novel Artichoke Tales (Fantagraphics Books) received two Ignatz awards. In 2007, The New York Times Magazine invited her to serialize her Watergate Sue comic as part of a weekly Funny Pages feature. In 2021 she completed a commission for Climate Pledge Arena, an 85 foot long comics mural etched in stainless steel. Her third collection of short stories, Who Will Make the Pancakes, is out now from Fantagraphics.
Meredith Li-Vollmer
Meredith began making comics in 2009, but didn’t begin sharing them publicly until becoming involved with Seattle’s “Comics Fever” reading group in 2014. She has since led several comics activist projects related to issues such as health care access and school gun violence. Her comics projects have been published in The Stranger, MUTHA Magazine, PEN America, and the American Journal of Public Health. Meredith is also a communications specialist at Public Health – Seattle & King County, affiliated faculty with the University of Washington School of Public Health, and has served on national committees and advisory boards for several organizations including the National Academies, the Center for Biosecurity, and the CDC. Graphic Public Health, which is part art catalog and part beginner’s guide that invites other health communicators to consider plunging into the comics medium, a book Meredith conceived of and edited, is out now from Penn State University Press.
Bryan Littlefield
Bryan has been part of the team since the inaugural festival in 2011, assuming a wide array of non-artistic roles including carpenter, gallery technician, logistics advisor, and occasional emcee. He moved to Seattle to attend Seattle University, and was introduced to PNW underground art through the animation of Bruce Bickford. He currently works as a record buyer for Jive Time Records.
Jessica Lopez
Jessica’s admiration for self-published comix and zines began in 2011 when she trekked to Olympia, WA for the Olympia Comics Festival after spotting a postcard in Seattle that grimly read “Profanity Hill” [a comics distro run by Jason T. Miles that included many local, alternative comic artists]. Since volunteering at the very first festival in 2011, Jessica has continued her involvement as social media liaison and advisory board member. Her other interests (to name a few) are houseplants, biking, and TikTok. Jessica graduated from Seattle University in 2014 with a BA in Humanities for Teaching/Biology. Her background is in early learning and Pre-K education, and she is currently a preschool teacher in Seattle.
Jessica Powers
Jessica is a long-standing supporter of art, artists, and the circulation of ideas. She has developed and run programs at the Museum of Glass, Path with Art, Seattle University, MOHAI, and The New Foundation Seattle. She has also organized contemporary art exhibitions around the US and Canada, and executed special projects in family office settings. In 2021, she formalized her love of commensality by opening a restaurant called Tomo in White Center with her partner, chef Brady Ishiwata Williams. At Tomo, she runs operations and collaborates with the team as they try to build a more just hospitality environment.
Advisory Board
Handa, Lauren Armstrong, Arabella Bautista, Jessica Hoffman, Jazzlyn Stone, Robyn Jordan, Lee Bess, Mita Mahato, Natalie Dupille, Elaine Lin, Sharrin Manor, E.T. Russian
Contact
Email us at: short.run.info@gmail.com
What people are saying about Short Run:
“…Short Run was one of the most invigorating and creatively inspiring shows I’ve ever been to. So much good work, so many even greater vibes- in seven hours I felt like I barely scratched the surface and could have come home with three times as much if time and $$ permitted. Mad respect for Kelly Froh and Co. for creating the best small press show on the west coast (and maybe North America) in our own backyard; we are so lucky to have it.” Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics
“It felt like a weekend-long celebration of the local cartoonists and comics scene in Seattle. Which was great because there were a ton of cartoonists worth celebrating there… I went into Seattle feeling like I knew almost no one in the town at all. At the end of the weekend, I left feeling like Seattle is one of the greatest comics cities I’ve ever visited.” Sean Ford
“Short Run Seattle curates some truly excellent art weirdos and their festival is always a subversive delight – one of the bestest, most Seattle, events of the PNW year.” Jennifer K. Stuller
Founded in 2011 by Eroyn Franklin, Kelly Froh, Martine Workman, and Jenny Gialenes.
Short Run Seattle became a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization in 2014.