History
A handful of professional comics artists and writers (Trina Robbins, Heidi MacDonald, Deni Loubert, Anina Bennett, and Jackie Estrada) bonded/banded together in the early 1990s to share frustrations and information and, finally, dreams for women and girls in the teenage boy-dominated comics industry, holding the first "Friends of Lulu" meetings at comics conventions. In 1994 they started an amateur press association to get the ball rolling.
In 1997 the first annual Lulu conference was held in California, and the first annual Lulu Awards were also held. Friends of Lulu has published a number of books including How to Get Girls (Into Your Store), a guide for comics shop owners on how to make their stores more female-friendly, and Broad Appeal, an anthology of comics by women artists. The Girls' Guide to Guys' Stuff, published in 2007, features over 50 female cartoonists presenting their takes on men and their interests. The anthology includes contributions from Roberta Gregory, Abby Denson, Debbie Huey and many others. In September 2007, Valerie D'Orazio was named national president of the Friends of Lulu organization.
Membership was open to all persons. It additionally sponsors the Lulu Awards, administers the Women Cartoonists Hall of Fame. The organization takes its name from Little Lulu, the comic strip character created by Marjorie Henderson Buell in 1935. In the comics, Lulu often tries to break into the boys' clubhouse, where girls aren't allowed. In 2000, Friends of Lulu was awarded a grant from the Xeric Foundation to self-publish Friends of Lulu: Storytime.
In August 2010, an interim Board Of Directors was reestablished and on August 8, the Friends Of Lulu 2010 Awards were launched. The award winners were named in October 2010.
In June 2011, the IRS revoked the organization's tax-exempt status as a non-profit. The group ceased operating shortly afterwards.
Read more about this topic: Friends Of Lulu
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