TIWARY returns to host 2016 HARVEY AWARDS

Vivek J. Tiwary Returns to Host the 2016 Harvey Awards! Harvey Awards Dinner & Award Ceremony Tickets Now on Sale!

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - August 3, 2016 - On Saturday night, September 3rd, the comic book industry, including professionals, retailers, and fans, will gather at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore to honor the 2016 Harvey Award Nominees for 2015 comic work and present the Harveys to their recipients. This is an exciting evening, highlighted by our return host Vivek J. Tiwary, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, and the founder of multi-platform arts and entertainment company Tiwary Entertainment Group.

Harvey Awards tickets are on sale NOW! Tickets to the event, which includes full cocktail hour (cash bar), full service dinner (featuring a Baltimore Crabcake!), awards ceremony, and a gift bag, are now available for $125. Tickets are available at our website via credit card at http://baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/

Photo by Lt. Blu Norals Host Vivek J. Tiwary's graphic novel, The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story (Dark Horse Comics), is based on the untold life story of Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. On October 25, 2016, Dark Horse Comics will be publishing a special trade paperback Expanded Edition of The Fifth Beatle, featuring never-before-seen art, essays and more. Written by Tiwary, with art by Andrew C. Robinson and Kyle Baker, it received worldwide critical acclaim and won a number of prestigious literary awards, including two Harvey Awards (Best Original Graphic Novel and Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation) and the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Reality-Based Work. It is a Lambda Literary Finalist for Best LGBT Graphic Novel, an American Library Association Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and has been added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives Permanent Collection. The Fifth Beatle is now being adapted into a multi-part TV event series that has secured unprecedented access to Beatles music. Vivek will be adapting his work for television and serving as executive producer. Vivek has also just acquired the TV and film rights to Astronaut Academy, the middle-grade graphic novel series from bestselling author-illustrator Dave Roman (Agnes Quill), with plans to turn the books into both a live-action TV series and a film franchise, and talks are underway with writers, networks, and studios to adapt the coming-of-age adventure story set at a fantastical space station school. Vivek's illustrated Young Adult novel Asha Ascending, with art by the award-winning Sara Richard (My Little Pony, Jem and The Holograms, Ghostbusters) is currently being serialized chapter-by-chapter free at https://readasha.wordpress.com Taking place in a near-future where surgical implants access a virtual Internet, Asha Ascending follows teenage coder Asha Rai as she helps irresponsible party-boy Hal Haven save his mother's life, while they race against an evil faction to unlock the code to immortality. "Hosting last year's Harvey Awards was the best night of my life in comics," said Tiwary, "I got to introduce beloved luminaries like Jules Feiffer and the late Darwyn Cooke, while honoring the creators of today's most inspiring work. But to quote Al Pacino -- 'I'm just getting warmed up!' See you in Baltimore!"   Portrait by Andrew C. Robinson On Broadway, Tiwary's productions have won a combined 25 Tony Awards. They include such groundbreaking work as Green Day's American Idiot, The Addams Family, A Raisin In The Sun, and Mel Brooks' The Producers. Vivek is currently working with Alanis Morissette and Pulitzer and Tony Award-winner Tom Kitt to adapt Morissette's breakthrough album Jagged Little Pill for Broadway.   Vivek has served on the Board of Directors for Valiant Entertainment, a multi-platform company that boasts the third largest universe of comic book characters and has secured a 5-film deal with Sony Pictures.   Vivek held a number of major label music-industry positions working with artists ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Britney Spears. In addition to hosting the awards ceremony, Vivek will be speaking on a panel and signing books throughout the weekend at the Baltimore Comic-Con.

The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. The Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Additionally, the Hero Initiative will present 2 awards to outstanding members of the comics community.

The Hero Initiative was established to aid comic creators with a financial safety net when in need of emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. In the years since its inception, the board has created an award to recognize those individuals in the industry that have dedicated their talent over the lifetime of their careers to the comic book community at-large, achieving the status of Hero. Previous recipients include Denis Kitichen, Herb Trimpe, Sal Buscema, John Romita, Joe Kubert, Nick Cardy, Neal Adams, and George Perez. Who will be this year's lifetime Hero?

The Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award will also be presented at the Harvey Awards Banquet. Giordano, who passed away in early 2010, was part of Hero Initiative's Board of Directors. He was also a legendary artist, a guiding force at Charlton Comics and DC Comics for many years, a mentor to his colleagues, and a friend to all who knew him. His legacy epitomizes the caring and commitment Hero Initiative strives to achieve. In his honor, the Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award will recognize one person in comics each year who has demonstrated the generosity and integrity Dick brought to the charity, and to the comic book community at large.