Nick Bertozzi grew up in and around Providence, Rhode Island, and lives in Queens, NY with his wife and daughters. He received a Xeric Grant and multiple Harvey Awards and Ignatz Awards forhis smart and human cartooning. He is the author of LEWIS & CLARK(First Second) a graphic novel about the Journey of Discovery; THE SALON (St Martin's Press), and the forthcoming SHACKELTON (First Second). He has also collaborated with Jason Lutes on the graphic novel HOUDINI: THE HANDCUFF KING, the first of Hyperion/CCS's cartoon-biographies. You can read his ongoing sci-fi/fantasy cartoon, PERSIMMON CUP, for free every week at ACT-I-VATE.COM. And for the past decade he has been teaching cartooning at NYC's School of Visual Arts and has also taught at RISD and The Center for Cartoon Studies.