Simon Grennan

Dr. Simon Grennan is a Research Fellow at the University of Chester and former affiliate of Wimbledon College of Arts (University of the Arts London). He specializes in visual narrative, comics theory, and 19th-century art history. His work bridges academic scholarship and creative practice through collaborations with artists like Christopher Sperandio and research on Victorian cartoonist Marie Duval. He led the AHRC-funded Marie Duval research project (2014), producing books, exhibitions, and digital archives. His research interests include narrative drawing, participatory art, and the intersection of word/image studies.

Key contributions include A Theory of Narrative Drawing (2017), a foundational text in comics studies, and co-authored works on Marie Duval’s legacy. Grennan’s creative output includes over 40 comics and graphic novels with his long-term artistic partnership Grennan & Sperandio since 1990. His recent focus includes interdisciplinary projects like Parables of Care (2020s), exploring dementia care through creative arts.

He has received recognition including a Guardian Book of the Year 2015 award for Dispossession. His grants include AHRC Early Career funding, and he maintains active engagement with public scholarship through blogs, exhibitions, and educational resources.