UK Sunday newspaper The Observer has just launched this year’s Graphic Short Story competition, part of the activities of the ComiICA Festival.
The winner of last year’s Graphic Short Story prize, Julian Hanshaw, is about to publish a book, so the competition is definitely one to consider entering – and the £1000 top prize shouldn’t be sniffed at, either!
The deadline for submissions is 25th September 2009 and the winning entry – judged by artists Joe Sacco and Simone Lia, Rachel Cooke from The Observer, Dan Franklin (Publisher, Jonathan Cape), Comica Festival Director Paul Gravett and (Random House Creative Director Suzanne Dean – will be published in the Observer Magazine on 1st November and the prize, a cheque for £1,000, will be awarded at the Comica Festival at the ICA on 8th November 2009.
Now in its third year, the competition attracted some 240 entries, and the standard was so incredibly high that the judges decided to award two runners-up, as well as a winner. So perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that Julian Hanshaw, the West Sussex-based animator who took the overall prize for his haunting story, Sand Dunes & Sonic Booms, has since sold his first book to Cape, The Art of Pho, will be published next March.
Pho, a kind of noodle soup, is the national dish of Vietnam – tells the story of Little Blue who, abandoned by a mysterious man with a red car in Ho Chi Minh City (“Count to 500,” he is told), finds salvation in his own mobile pho stand: cue much slurping. At last! A graphic novel with recipes.
• For full competition information visit the ComiICA web site
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Comics Competitions