Judge Alex Fitch hosting the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award ceremony at Waterstones Piccadilly. Watch highlights in the short video above.

2023 FIRST GRAPHIC NOVEL AWARD

The 2023 First Graphic Novel Award is now over, the judges have deliberated and we are proud to announce that this year’s winner is Alex Taylor for Bone Broth. Alex will be offered a contract by SelfMadeHero to complete their work for publication, including an advance against royalties, and editorial and design support. Alex will also receive a £500 cash prize sponsored by The bks Agency.

The Award is for comics creators, cartoonists, or writers and artists who have not previously had a full-length graphic novel published. The Award aims to encourage emerging talent of any age, 18+, and is an amazing opportunity for would-be graphic novelists at any stage in their career.

The Award is a partnership between the Cartoon Museum, the publisher SelfMadeHero, and independent graphic novel editor Corinne Pearlman, former Creative Director at Myriad Editions, with thanks to generous support from the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and The bks Agency, sponsors of the £500 prize for the winning entry. The longlist was announced at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) and the shortlist was announced at the Thought Bubble Festival. Waterstones Piccadilly supported the callout for entries and were kind hosts of our award ceremony on 11 December 2023. You can watch the video highlights on this page or the whole event here.

The Award asked creators to submit 15-30 pages of a graphic novel in progress, fiction or non-fiction. A panel of judges selected a longlist and shortlist. The judges included graphic novel editors Ayoola Solarin and Corinne Pearlman, artist Mark Wallinger, Cartoon Museum Learning & Outreach Officer Steve Marchant, broadcast journalist Alex Fitch, graphic novelist Sabba Khan, author of the award-winning The Roles We Play (shortlisted, 2018), and Emma Hayley, Director, SelfMadeHero. James Spackman at The bks Agency reviewed the longlisted creators’ work.

The award was founded by Myriad Editions in 2012 as the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition. As well as publishing books by the four finalists, Myriad has also published six other shortlisted authors.

With thanks to our partners: the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF), Thought Bubble Festival, LDComics, Cartoon County, VIP Brands, Waterstones Piccadilly and the many comic creator networks, fairs and festivals, and individual creators supporting the call for entry.