You have under a month to enter the 2019 Dundee Comics Prize

By John Freeman on October 23, 2019

With a theme of ‘Water Worlds’, the hunt is on for entries for the 2019 Dundee Comics Prize, but you’ll have to be quick to submit three-page strips for the chance to win £300, because the deadline is under a month away.

Announced on the Dundee Comics Creative Space earlier today, the organisers of the competition are seeking submissions that explore our relationship to the sea, rivers and waterways through the medium of comics.

Suggested themes include, but are not limited to, climate change, pollution, underwater worlds, and our relationship to the aquatic environment more generally. Any genre or approach will be considered.

Entries to the competition should take the form of three pages of completed comic art. The prize is £300, plus publication of the story in a comic, which will be published by UniVerse. Runners-up may also be published if suitable.

The deadline for submissions is 15th November 2019, and the announcement of the winner will be made at the launch of the comic on Thursday 21st November 2019 in Dundee Comics Creative Space at 6.00pm.

All queries and submissions should be sent to Professor Christopher Murray at the University of Dundee at: c.murray@dundee.ac.uk. (Please send large files via wetransfer).

The launch of the comic will be one a series of events in Dundee in November 2019 as part of the Being Human Festival, including talks and performances. The theme of the Festival this year is Discoveries and Secrets.

Art by Helen Robinson

The aim of the competition is to nurture comics talent. Anyone can enter and the submission can be in any style, in black and white or colour, but the work must be finished to a high standard (lettered, inked, etc), and must be a complete story, suitable for publication at A4 size. The work must be original, and it must not have been already published already elsewhere. High resolution quality electronic files are requested (do not send original artwork).

The prize is awarded to the creator or team who produce the work. If the comic is collaborative the members of the team share the prize money equally. All winners (including runners-up) will be asked to provide a short account of how the comic was created, along with any relevant photos and sketches that can be used on a website or in the publication. The decision of the judging panel is final.

John Freeman

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.