Scholastic UK – publishers of Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants, Dog Man, and Cat Kid comic Club), Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Sisters, Guts), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet), and Jeff Smith (BONE) – has just launched a new Graphic Novel Prize, in response to the genre’s recent growth.
The Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize aims to celebrate the UK and Ireland’s favourite graphic novels, the fantastic depth and breadth of titles within the graphic novel genre – as well as the authors and artists that create them. If you’re a publisher of brilliant graphic novels, they want to hear from you.
The Terms and Conditions of entry emphasise graphic novels submitted must be published by an established publishing house based in the UK or Ireland. Self-published graphic novels are not eligible for the Prize, and graphic novels must be first written and published in English; translations will not be eligible.
“Graphic novels are a great way to engage all readers,” say Scholastic, “and they play an important role in developing readers and building strong reading habits and positive associations with books. Packed with rich plots, often complex storylines and captivating visual elements, graphic novels have a unique appeal to both avid and reluctant readers.
The Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize has been launched at a time when data from Nielsen for the Children’s Graphic Novel and Comic Strip category shows 425% volume growth since 2019 and 391% value growth, The Bookseller reports.
Scholastic said “graphic novels are always among the bestsellers” through its school channels where children self-select, appealing to both avid and reluctant readers thanks to their rich plots and visual elements.
“Graphic novels are sometimes derided as not ‘real reading’ they are in fact full of text that children have to decode, analyse and comprehend as well as following plot and character development,” notes Yvonne Murphy, Scholastic’s Head of Product director.
“The combination of text and pictures can also provide context for stories that children may struggle to make complete sense of.”
Scholastic’s own Graphix imprint has been in operation since 2005, and the publisher has championed the art of graphic storytelling by seeking out and empowering groundbreaking visual authors, publishing diverse and vibrant stories, and instilling a love of reading in young adults that last a life time.
This new Graphic Novel Prize joins Scholastic’s other competitions such as the Laugh Out Loud Awards and will be awarded in three categories: Graphic Novel for Younger Readers, Graphic Novel for Older Readers, and Graphic Novel for Teens.
Representatives from BookTrust will select the longlist and a judging panel will select the shortlist. For the inaugural awards the judges are Sha Nazir, events producer at Comic Con, Michael Stirling, creative director at BEANO; Jon Biddle, English lead at Moorlands School; Richard Ruddick, teacher and writer and publisher of the Comics in Class blog, and Jo Cummins, teacher, blogger and podcast host.
The final winners will be chosen by children’s votes, using Scholastic’s school channels to promote the titles, create class resources, voting packs and a virtual shortlist showcase.
“I’m excited to be part of the Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize celebrating the artistry that transcends frames,” says Sha Nazir, formerly at BHP Comics, “turning pages into portals of visual storytelling excellence for teens and kids. It’s great to see graphic novels make a space for itself in the book industry and growing year on year.”
The BEANO‘s Mike Stirling added: “The saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ has never been truer than when it comes to graphic novels; or ‘Epic Comics’ as I prefer to call them. They super-power a lifelong love of books, prove that reading is fun, and every kid deserves the opportunity to read them.”
• Submissions for the Scholastic Graphic Novel Prize are open now until Friday 2nd February 2024 with the shortlists selected at the end of March. Publishers of comics can find the submission criteria and entry form at scholastic.co.uk/graphicprize
Here are some pointers about submissions for publishers, selected from the “Terms and Conditions”
• Graphic novels submitted must be published by an established publishing house based in the UK or Ireland. ‘Established’ is here defined as a house that publishes a list of titles by a range of authors and distributes its books nationally through recognised high-street booksellers and online retailers.
• Self-published graphic novels are not eligible for the Prize.
• Graphic novels must be first written and published in English; translations will not be eligible.
• All titles must be the work of either a single or joint author/s or one author and one illustrator. Collections or anthologies or works by multiple authors and or illustrators (defined as more than three) will not be eligible. In-house projects where the author is a member of the publishing team will not be eligible.
• A graphic novel that is published or is submitted posthumously will not be eligible for the Prize. Authors and illustrators must be aged 18 years or over at the time of submission.
• Publishers may make only two entries in each category per bona fide imprint, allowing up to six titles to be entered across the three categories in total for each imprint. A bona fide imprint means an imprint used by a publisher that includes a list of titles by a range of authors and is distributed nationally through recognised high-street booksellers and online retailers.
• Please note that each graphic novel within a series will be judged individually.
• Eleven printed copies of each graphic novel submitted must be delivered to the address listed on the Entry Form.
• The judges may additionally call in titles not initially submitted by the publishers, with publication dates between 1st January 2023 through to 31st December 2023. In that event the publishers will be asked to submit eleven printed copies of the book and complete an Entry Form as quickly as possible.
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: British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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