• The Short Run Festival announced their latest special guest: Hatem Imam, a cartoonist and editor who was put on trial in Lebanon for the "crime" of publishing two supposedly controversial panels in anthology comics. This New Yorker story has more information about the trial. Imam's appearance in Seattle this fall will undoubtedly kick off a citywide conversation about religion, censorship, and satire. Short Run is on November 5th this year.

• Starting on July 11th, Seattle-area fiction writers will be able to apply for the second annual Gar La Salle Storyteller award, "an unrestricted award of $10,000 given to a Washington State artist who is engaged in storytelling through their work in various artistic disciplines." That's some big money. The first winner of the Award was local writer Anca Szilágyi.

• Over at Comics Grinder, Henry Chamberlain interviews David Schmader about the Bureau of Fearless Ideas, Weed: A User's Guide, and why pot isn't for everyone:

Yeah, and apparently gin turns some people into monsters. So, the idea is that not everyone is going to like weed; and don’t think there’s anything wrong with you if you don’t like weed. Because it’s all about your system and what kind of feelings you enjoy.