The British Comic Awards committee  has announce the judging panel for the 2013 Awards.

The Judges are (in alphabetical order): Gareth David (lyricist and singer in the band Los Campesinos!), Lenny Henry (actor, writer and comedian), Stephen L Holland (co-owner and manager of Page 45 comic shop), Jamillah Knowles (writer and broadcaster), Graham Linehan (comedy writer and director), Josie Long (comedian, writer and actress) and Sarah McIntyre (cartoonist and children’s book illustrator).

The Judges were selected by the BCA Committee and chosen for their interest or involvement in comics and for their ability to view the medium critically as works of art and entertainment from their point of view as successful professionals in their respective creative industries.

The British Comic Awards are an annual celebration of the very best in British comics, to commend and highlight the best stories told by writers and illustrators over the past twelve months. The awards recognise the finest examples of creativity, ingenuity, skill and originality in sequential storytelling in all genres and formats.

There are five awards which emphasize the high quality of all the nominated books, not just the winners. The categories are Best Comic, Best Book, Young People’s Comic Award, Emerging Talent and Hall of Fame.

The shortlist for each award is selected by the Committee and the Judges have the unenviable task of selecting a winner for Best Comic, Best Book and Emerging Talent.

The nomination process for this year’s Awards are still open. The end of July is the cut off date for books suitable for younger readers and the end of August is the deadline for all other releases. You can nominate any title at the BCA website for consideration by the Committee, but each title only needs suggesting once, it is NOT a most-votes-win process.

The British Comic Awards are organised in partnership with the annual Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival which runs between 17th and 24th November 2013 in Leeds. The Second Annual BCA Ceremony will be held on Saturday 23rd November 2013 as part of the festival.

• For more information visit: www.britishcomicawards.com

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.

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Tags: Awards, British Comic Awards, Josie Long, Lenny Henry, Sarah McIntyre, Stephen L. Holland