Bizhan Khodabandeh (The Day the Klan Came to Town) is a visual
communicator who moves freely across the professional boundaries as
designer, illustrator, artist, and activist. His works vary from
small graphic art projects to major public campaigns. Khodabandeh is
particularly fascinated by how art and design can catalyze social
change. He has received numerous international and national awards
for his work, including: a silver medal from the Society of
Illustrators, a silver medal from the International Design Awards, a
finalist in the Cross-Cultural Design Competition, and best in show
through the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He has received
numerous international and national awards for his work as both an
illustration and designer through various institutions such as: The
American Institute of Graphic Arts, Creativity International,
Adbusters, and Creative Quarterly. Khodabandeh has had work featured
in publications such as Print, Creativity
International, Adbusters, and Comic Bastards among
others. Currently Khodabandeh teaches full-time at VCU’s Robertson
School of Media & Culture and freelances under the name, Mended
Arrow.
Jeffrey Ford: Jeffrey Ford was born on Long Island in New York State in 1955 and grew up in the town of West Islip. He studied fiction writing with John Gardner at S.U.N.Y Binghamton. He’s been a college English teacher of writing and literature for 30 years. He is the author of eight novels including The Girl in the Glass and four short story collections. He has received the World Fantasy, Nebula, Edgar, and Shirley Jackson awards. He lives with his wife Lynn in a century old farm house in a land of slow clouds and endless fields.