The Spectator magazine is running a competition offering a £500 prize in their search for a new political cartoonist – and there’s not much time left to enter their challenge.
Established in 1828, currently edited by former Tory MP and minister Michael Gove, The Spectator was established in 1828. Its writers have no party line; their only allegiance is to “clarity of thought, elegance of expression and independence of opinion’, offering opinions range from left to right, their circumstances from high life to low life. None make any pretence at being impartial: the magazine’s motto is “firm, but unfair”.
To enter, picture the cover of The Spectator. What would you put on it? Picture an article you have read recently in the magazine. How would you illustrate it?
If you are a terrific caricaturist, fantastic storyteller and wit who doesn’t take anything too seriously, please throw your hat in the ring. Submit your best cartoons and join the legendary illustrators who have graced the pages of The Spectator. They include Michael Heath, who has been the Spectator’s cartoon editor for 33 years and is co-judging the competition.
“All we ask is that you try to make readers laugh,” ask the editorial team. “Cartooning is a noble profession; fame, bragging rights and a place in the magazine all await.”
The winner will also receive £500.
Submissions should be in colour for a cover illustration on one of the following themes to reach The Spectator by 21st October…
- A special relationship: Donald Trump wins in November. How will Keir Starmer handle relations with the new US president?
- Refuseniks: why Gen Z doesn’t want to join the army
- Starlink: Meloni and Musk – how these new power players took on the world
Submit your entry by email to cartooncomp@spectator.co.uk by Monday 21 October. Submitted artwork should be scanned at 300dpi. The magazine’s cover size is 276mm x 210mm. Alternatively, postal entries can be sent to 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP but will not be returned
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: Comic Art, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Magazines, Other Worlds
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