The title of the new series may ring some bells for Chmakova's longtime fans her first Yen Press series Nightschool: The Weirn Books takes place in the same universe. Awkward and Brave both appeared on best-of lists for School Library Journal and the Young Adult Library Services Organization (YALSA), and Awkward also won a Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics and was nominated for an Eisner. These books, all set in Berrybrook Middle School, focus on different characters in each volume as they navigate the perils of early teenhood. More recently, Chmakova has been known for her slice-of-life middle-grade series that began with Awkward and continued with Brave, Crush, and Diary. Dramacon was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2007. Ailis' Astral is rather fond of chocolate rolls.Ĭhmakova, who emigrated from Russia to Canada at the age of 16, first came onto the scene with the webcomic Chasing Rainbows in 2003, followed by her first full-length book series Dramacon in 2005, which followed the adventures of a teenage aspiring comics creator at her first anime convention.

The Weirn Books, Chmakova tells SYFY WIRE, is an urban fantasy adventure set in a misty New England town where 'very irate mermaids throw trash back at tourists.' Ailis Thornton, her cousin Na'ya, and Na'ya's little brother, D'esh, are weirns, a special type of witch who is bound from birth to spirit entities called Astrals, which are loyal for life. The Weirn Books series kicks off in June from Yen Press' JY imprint with Be Wary of the Silent Woods, introducing the young witch Ailis Thornton as she navigates family secrets, shifting friendships, and a creepy house in the woods.

Following up on the massive success of her Berrybrook Middle School series, award-winning cartoonist Svetlana Chmakova is looking back to look forward, revisiting a magical world of mythical beings she first envisioned more than 10 years ago.

Awkward by chmakova svetlana