The First Graphic Novel Award has announced the longlist for 2025.
The award offers the winner, or winners, the opportunity to have their completed graphic novel published by partner SelfMadeHero. It is open to all cartoonists, writers and artists who are UK residents, individually or as a team, who have not previously published a full-length graphic work.
Entrants are asked for 15-20 pages of a graphic work-in-progress, fiction or non-fiction.
This year’s judges are award-winning graphic novelists Shazleen Khan, Oscar Zarate and Karrie Fransman, contemporary artist Janette Parris, and SelfMadeHero publisher Emma Hayley.
Announcing the longlist at the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival in Bownesson-Windermere today, Emma Hayley said: ‘This year the Award received a massive 220 entries, a 30% increase since 2023, giving the judges a very difficult task to choose who should go forward! I’m grateful to my fellow judges for all their hard work, and delighted that we have selected 30 entrants to be longlisted for the next stage of the competition.
“Do please take time to visit the First Graphic Novel table in the Comics Marketplace over the weekend, where the longlisted entries will be on display. Finally, thank you on behalf of the Award to all the entrants for sharing your time, effort and amazing comics.”
Longlisted authors will receive feedback from the judges and have their work reviewed by The bks Agency, sponsors of the £500 prize for the winner. The shortlist will be announced at the Thought Bubble Festival on 15th November, and the winner revealed at an event at Waterstones Piccadilly in January 2026.
The First Graphic Novel Award is in partnership with the Cartoon Museum, and SelfMadeHero, and is generously supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
The longlisted authors are: Natalie d’Arbeloff, Cathy Brett, Yu-Ching Chiu Sacha Cvetanovic with Alexander Morris, Millie Dobson, Leina Elgohari, Bex Gilbert, Chie Hosaka, Asia Kazub, Alanah Knibb, Lizz Lunney, Hannah McCann, Harriet Merry ,Wes Mountain, Calico M. Netwally, Lauren O’Farrel, Judy Powell , Teresa Robertson, Richard Rudge, Graham Samels with Maria Solecki & Jenny Turner, Yanna Sapon, Lois de Silva, Joshua Sims, Jeeti Sing, Savannah Storm, Ella Stovel, Qianyu Wang (two entries), Jess Winton, Lottie Withers.
• Visit the First Graphic Novel Award site for more information
FALLING IN LOVE ON THE FAMILY COMPUTER by Lois de Silva
2008: on the adolescent internet, two likewise teenaged girls find each other from half the world away. But in this time when the digital and the physical are still kept at a distance, what does it mean to fall in love through a screen
@loisdelores See more
2119: A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Sacha Cvetanovic and Alexander Morris
In an AI-ruled future, with Mars already settled in two city-states, two brothers are parting ways. Mechanic Oscar is bound for Saturn’s moon Titan, while his brother Finn is falling in with a dangerous crime syndicate, on a path of no return.
@sacha_cvetanovic @alexdavidmorris See more
UNCLE C.O. by Judy Powell
Dawning with the 20th century, this hand-me-down story is told in the shadow of one mysterious larger-than-life relative. See ‘Uncle C.O.’ lead his family from obscurity in Ireland to prosperity in England – but he who giveth can taketh away…
@jpowell470 See more
THREE NINES FIVE by Alanah Knibb
Recently diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson’s disease, Asabi moves her young family from Africa to the UK. Struggling to reconcile her changing identity with her culture, faith, and diagnosis, she turns to Aunty Tiwa – who lives with Lewy body dementia – for answers.
@alanahknibb See more
GROWING by Graham Samuels, Maria Solecki and Jenny Turner
Right before Natasha’s 40th birthday, her perfect life collapses. Cheating partner, flaky friends – but, when she’s unexpectedly awarded an unwanted allotment, she discovers you don’t always need a perfect life to live a good life.@growinggraphicnovel See more
DOES THAT MEAN I CAN DO ANYTHING? by Qianyu Wang
After two years of uncertainty, a chance night at the theatre inspires the author to seek out an autism diagnosis. That leads to emails, phone calls, appointments, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting… And then, what next?
@junooo.art See more
GAS by Chie Hosaka
After a somewhat embarrassing trip to the hospital, 32-year-old Tia’s farts start talking to her. And she’s moved back in with her mother. Tia has too much bottled up inside – her past, her grief… When will it find, well, release
@chiehosaka. See more
IT ALL COMES TOGETHER, IT ALL FALLS APART by Richard Rudge
Growth and decay, creation and destruction, beginning and ending… This is a story of cycles, of how time turns, of how mistakes are made and learned from. What does it mean to live in a changing world, and to be part of its changes?
@richrudgeart_ See more
SEA FRET by Savannah Storm
After graduating from university, Rina moves home to the Yorkshire coast, burned out and directionless. Inspired by some brave wintertime swimmers, she joins an unexpected community and discovers a new love of the freezing cold North Sea.
@savannah.storm See more
KITTISH BANTER by Calico M. Netwally
When Irsim finally gets away from their conservative Muslim parents, they’re hardly expecting to end up in Leeds’ gayest Muslim house-share. Soon enough, thanks to new friends and the landlord’s excitable daughter, they’re considering their relationship to religion altogether.
@neomintsart See more
TURN OFF THE MACHINES by Joshua Sims
A small toy elephant whose trunk is stitched to his chest wakes up in an abandoned library in an abstract, crumbling world. His task is simple: turn off six mysterious, failing machines. Each machine, however, is fiercely defended by its caretaker
@poshyartstuff See more
LAPIN BLEU by Lottie Withers
In this memoir, for a child diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder 22q11 – A.K.A. DiGeorge Syndrome – her closest companion is the rabbit named Lapin Bleu. When her companion vanishes in the hospital, the loss takes its toll
@lottieemilieart See more
CARCINISATION by Jess Winton
A lone traveller journeys north searching for a hermit who can grant any wish. In exchange for four gifts, his wish is granted: he becomes a crab. But what are these four gifts, and what stories come with them?
@_wintern See more
A SLEIGH NO-ONE KNOWS by Yu-Ching Chiu
A story about the meaning of life involving a depressed rabbit, a sheep experiencing an existential crisis, and an utterly ludicrous military project. Philosophical concepts in the strangest of contexts, but somehow true to all…
@yuchingchiu.illustration See more
DOUBLE ENTENDRE by Natalie d’Arbeloff
An experiment looking at a life well-lived, 95 years in the making, d’Arbeloff recalls and interrogates her experiences of events and adventures, whilst acquiring some useful self-knowledge along the way.See more
THE SCHOOL RUN by Harriet Merry
Within the world of the family car, one mother navigates six journeys through nature: two for her children, one for herself, and then all three all over again. Different struggles, different stories, but a shared road through a loved world.
@harrytoady See more
STORY OF MY LIFE WITH ADHD by Bex Gilbert
When Bex is finally diagnosed with ADHD at 45, everything starts making sense. It’s bittersweet news: initial empowerment gives way to social stigma and frustrating medical bureaucracy. Now Bex must find the community and support she needs on her quest for understanding.
@bexcreative_illustrator See more
TWINS by Teresa Robertson
In this memoir celebrating extended family life, the author loses her twin brother while weeks away from delivering her first child. How does one bridge the gap between death and life? How do lost things come together again?
@teresarobertson2 See more
I’LL BE FINE by Jeeti Singh
Trapped in a bathroom, hounded by her inner demons, a woman thinks back to the mother she lost to suicide years ago. So begins a life-spanning journey through time, from the history shared between mother and daughter and the future she faces without her.
@jeeti_singh_draws See more
FORGET-ME-NOT by Lizz Lunney
Loss and memory. Growing up often comes with both. This collection of autobiographical comic essays looks back on 25 years’ worth of grief, compassion, and moments of humour to create a guide for the bereaved.
@lizzlizz See more
BIKES TO WATCH OUT FOR by Millie Dobson
The existential, off-kilter journey of one cyclist in search of the bike they’d left on campus, and how they got home again. Join in the cyclist’s solitary stream of consciousness, featuring personified groceries, arm wrestling, and zombies.@themiliad See more
WOLF GIRL WICKED by Yanna Sapon
In her final year of school, Vivienne just wants to be invisible. One wrong move could capture the attention of Caoimhe, the sadistic queen bee who rules the student populace. But then Caoimhe’s behaviour starts changing… And there’s someone watching in the woods.
@yanska_art See more
FOR SURVIVAL by Ella Stovell
Two isolated strangers meet in an Edinburgh graveyard on Halloween. One happens to be a vampire. They strike up an unlikely friendship, a much-needed level of vulnerability and connection. So, who else needs help in the city’s supernatural underbelly?@rubbershavings See more
MARY & AGNES by Cathy Brett
The true story of an almost century-long friendship. Two Scottish-born 14-year-olds, after becoming pen pals in 1926, both emigrate overseas, one to Europe and the other to America. This sets them on wholly different paths – one with an unforeseeable ending.
@gingerdoodles See more
ST BRIGID AND ME by Hannah McCann
Brigid: saint and goddess. In this memoir, the fight for abortion rights in her homeland of Ireland inspires the author to reconnect with Saint Brigid, and to connect the dots between traditional folklore and modern social justice.
@hannaaghhh See more
GOOD HAIR by Leina Elgohari
Hair is part of a person’s identity. It’s how you present yourself to the world, and the world responds back. This is a story of how Western norms create global attitudes, about appearance and belonging, and how people get in your head about what’s on your head.
@leinaelgohari See more
THE TIDE GOES OUT by Asia Kazub
Born in Jaffa, Palestine, in 1940, the author’s mother is only now sharing her experiences. The author aims to reach out those who may not view themselves political but find themselves navigating political circumstances, and to use the graphic novel format as a way to explore truth and reconciliation.
@taviisii See more
ANYWHERE by Qianyu Wang
When bands go on tour, they explore so many new places – and so do the fans that follow them. This is the personal account of one very devoted fan, a narrative of personal growth woven between more than 50 concerts across the UK.
THE FROZENS by Lauren O’Farrell
Unaware that she’s only days away from a cancer diagnosis, Lauren saves a boy she sees lying on the railway tracks. Soon she meets her own Death, and they both embark on a wild journey towards loving life.
@deadlyknitshade See more
NO GOODBYES by Wes Mountain
Do we have a right to disappear? Is it possible anymore? Thanks to modern technology, D.I. Sarah Blakely has noted more and more appearances from cold case missing persons. But before she can find some connection, their bodies start washing up on beaches…
@therevmountain See more
• Visit the First Graphic Novel Award site for more information
- About the Author
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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.
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