AND SPECIAL LAUNCH EVENT WITH GUESTS AT WATERSTONES PICCADILLY ON 15TH JANUARY
Launch event; Waterstones Piccadilly, London,
Date: Wed 15th January 2025 Time:18:30
The 2025 First Graphic Novel Award is open for submission between 9 January 2025 and 22 April 2025. The winner will be offered a contract by publisher SelfMadeHero and a £500 cash prize sponsored by The bks Agency.
The launch event takes place on Wednesday 15th January 2025 at Waterstones Piccadilly which will be attended by the fabulous panel of this year’s judges and last year’s winner, Alex Taylor (aka azbt). Tickets are available from Waterstones.
‘This is a great opportunity for comics creators looking to make their published debut.’ says Award partner Joe Sullivan of the Cartoon Museum. “Whoever you are, if you have a story that no-one has told before, then we want to hear from you”.
“My advice is, no matter where you are in your artistic, creative journey, just go for it’ says 2023 award winner Alex Taylor. ‘Don’t hold yourself back. You’ll never know if your idea is any good until you throw it out there and get some feedback”.
Says Award Director Corinne Pearlman, ”The Award is extremely proud of its success in reaching creatives from all identities and ages. Nearly a third of entrants to the 2023 award identified as other than white, a third identified as LGBTQI+ and a fifth as disabled or neurodivergent. A quarter were aged under 30, and a quarter aged 50 and over”.
The First Graphic Novel Award, a partnership between the Cartoon Museum, SelfMadeHero, and Award Director Corinne Pearlman, is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The award is open to anyone aged 18 and above who is resident in the UK, does not have an agent and has not had a full-length graphic work commercially published.
The panel of judges includes SelfMadeHero publisher Emma Hayley, contemporary artist Janette Parris (This Is Not a Memoir), and graphic novelists Shazleen Khan (Buuza), Karrie Fransman (Gender-Swapped Fairy Tales) and Oscar Zarate (Thomas Girtin). The judges will be attending the launch event at Waterstones Piccadilly on 15th January.
All entries will receive feedback. Longlisted entries will also be reviewed by literary agent James Spackman at The bks Agency and by chief book buyer Nessa Urquhart at Waterstones Piccadilly, who are hosting a launch event on 15th January.
Tickets for the event are available here:
The 2023 First Graphic Novel Award winner was Alex Taylor (aka azbt), whose graphic novel Bone Broth will be published by SelfMadeHero in 2025.
About Author
