The Cartoon Museum, SelfMadeHero and Award Director Corinne Pearlman are delighted to announce the longlist for the First Graphic Novel Award 2023.
The competition offers the winner, or winners, the opportunity to have their completed graphic novel published by 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 15-30 pages of a graphic work-in-progress, fiction or non-fiction.
This year’s judges) are artist Sabba Khan, whose graphic memoir The Roles We Play was shortlisted in 2018; contemporary artist Mark Wallinger, SelfMadeHero publisher Emma Hayley, Cartoon Museum Learning Officer Steve Marchant, editor and writer Ayoola Solarin, broadcast journalist Alex Fitch, and award director Corinne Pearlman who said:
 ‘This year we received 170 entries, nearly 50% more than in previous years, which is an illustration of the huge number of comics creators seeking publication in a very restricted market. Many have been burning the midnight oil to prepare their entries and we are grateful to all of them for sharing such a high standard of work. We had enormous pleasure in reading all the submissions, but several readings and vibrant conversations later, we are all happy to celebrate these 30 works-in-progress.’
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. Their entries will be displayed at the Thought Bubble Festival in Harrogate on 10th November, where the shortlist will be announced, and the winner revealed at an event at Waterstones Piccadilly on 11th December. The award was previously known as the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition. Myriad’s graphics list includes the four previous winners and six other books by shortlisted authors.
The longlisted artists are:  Glenn Hustler • Emma Pratt • Ying Ru-Chen • Anna-Maria Glover • Anna Trench • Christine Humphreys • Gareth Cowlin (two entries) • Robbie Brewster • Chris Halls • Eszter-Simavari • Cathy Brett • Mereida Fajardo • Myfanwy Tristram • Steven Thompson • Edie Woolf • Wallis Eates • Corban Wilkin • Hariet Titlow • Elena Blanco • Zoe Delautre Corral • Kelly Vassie • Jonah Walker • Lucy Maughan • Lizzie Mikietyn • Graham Johnstone • Leina Elgohari • Alexander Taylor • Charlotte Bailey • Chris King
For more information please visit www.firstgraphicnovel.co.uk
