Artist Emma Vieceli and scriptwriter Richard Appignanesi will be visiting the Shakespeare Centre on Wednesday 2 July at 1pm to discuss their comic book adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Adaptations of Shakespeare into manga, traditionally a Japanese form of graphic art and story telling are becoming increasingly popular in and out of the classroom, with the manga version of Hamlet currently outselling every other edition of the play in its original form.

The book’s creators, Emma Vieceli, an award-winning illustrator and a passionate promoter of the UK manga scene, and series editor Richard Appignanesi, will be discussing their inspirations, as well as the challenges of condensing and re-making Shakespeare’s plays into manga.

Following the talk, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and meet the speakers. There will also be a bookstall selling a selection of Manga Shakespeare titles, and Emma and Richard will be happy to sign copies of their books.

Manga Shakespeare is the latest in a series of lunchtime literary events organized by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. The series continues on Wednesday 30 July, when Professor Stanley Wells and Paul Edmondson will be discussing their new book Coffee with Shakespeare.

Tickets cost £3.50 (Concessions £3) and are available from the reception desk of The Shakespeare Centre in Henley Street or by phone on 01789 204016. The Manga Shakespeare series is published by ‘SelfMadeHero’. All current titles are available from the Shakespeare Bookshop priced £6.99 or £7.99.

Signed copies of Hamlet will be available from the Shakespeare Bookshop following the event.