Have you ever wanted to turn a piece of local history into a graphic novel? Join us for a monthly hands-on workshop where we’ll dive into the Manchester Historical Society archives to create Historic Zines: self-published, non-commercial mini-comics and booklets inspired by the real, often wild events of Manchester’s past.

We will use authentic historical newspaper clippings as creative springboards for our storytelling. Take, for example, the infamous 1819 Boorn Murder Trial, America’s first documented wrongful murder conviction. One desperate newspaper notice was published in a last-ditch effort to find Russell Colvin, a man who had been missing for seven years and whom the Boorn brothers were sentenced to hang for murdering. The publication worked; Colvin was found alive, and the Boorn brothers were saved from the gallows just in the “neck” of time!

This program will run monthly on the fourth Saturday from 1 – 3 pm through June 2027* as a part of Vermont Humanities’ 2026 Vermont Reads initiative. This year’s Vermont Reads book is Charity and Sylvia, a Vermont History graphic novel by Tillie Walden.

*No workshop in December 2026.