Thought Bubble 2023: First Graphic Novel Award Announces Seven Creator Shortlist
by Richard Bruton
The longlist for the First Graphic Novel Prize has been announced, whittling down 30 creators to a shortlist of seven…
We covered the longlist here, and now it’s time to show you the seven creators who’ve made it through to the shortlist, who were announced this weekend at Thought Bubble in Harrogate at a display of all 30 longlisted entries…
Anna Trench – Florrie, Gareth Cowlin – The Hiraeth Club, Cathy Brett – Mrs Thorwald, Mereida Fajardo – Zayani Zam, Myfanwy Tristram – The Noisy Valley, Corban Wilkin – The Infinite Benefits of Shame, Alexander Taylor – Bone Broth.
For more details and the chance to reads excerpts, head to firstgraphicnovel.co.uk/2023-shortlist.
That seven includes graphic fiction and non-fiction, graphic reportage, and memoir and covers, according to SelfMadeHero, “a female footballer, a murderous housewife, a Mongolian truck driver, a grieving bookseller, an unemployed cross-dresser, a transmasculine queer person working in a ramen shop and protestors from the Rhondda Valley,” which all sounds pretty damn good. Also good is the news that this was a properly diverse set of entries, nearly a third of entrants from European or other backgrounds and more than half of the 170 entries from women.
The Judges will now narrow that shortlist down to the eventual winner, announced 11th December at Waterstones Piccadilly. The winner will be offered a contract for publication by SelfMadeHero. Longlisted authors will receive feedback from the judges and have their work reviewed by the Bks Agency, sponsors of an additional £500 cash prize for the winner.
The seven judges include Emma Hayley of SMH, artist and graphic novelist Sabba Khan, contemporary artist Mark Wallinger, Cartoon Museum Learning Officer Steve Marchant, editor and writer Ayoola Solarin, broadcast journalist Alex Fitch, and award director Corinne Pearlman.
