Lancaster University has appointed renowned French graphic novelist and critic Benoit Peeters as its Visiting Professor in Graphic Fiction and Comic Art, the first such appointment in the UK.

The three-year appointment will see Mr Peeters deliver a series of lectures, run creative writing workshops, and supervise post-graduate students.

Professor Simon Guy said: “We are delighted Benoit has accepted this appointment.
“The appointment will bring a new dimension to our University and, in particular, to our English and creative writing courses. It will also demonstrate strong commitment to our collaboration with the increasingly popular and fast-expanding Lakes international Comic Art Festival.”
Benoit Peeters is a world-renowned authority on Hergé and Tintin, having written Tintin and the World of Hergé and Hergé’s biography, Hergé, Son Of Tintin.
He is also author of biographies about 19th century comics pioneer Rodolphe Töpffer, and the French philosopher Derrida, and co-creator, alongside François Schuiten, of Les Cités Obscures, one of Belgium’s most famous francophone comic strips created in the past 30 years, which is being published in English by Alaxis Press. The Theory of the Grain of Sand (La Théorie du Grain de Sable) is the latest volume published in English, the final “key title” in the series.
On accepting the post, Mr Peeters said: “This professorship is a great honour for me. I was very impressed by my first contact with the Lancaster University’s team.
“I want to explore the connections between the history of graphic fiction and contemporary creation, between the world of French and Belgian bande dessinée, and the world of comics and graphic novels”.

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