First Graphic Novel Award

The Award is open to all UK comics creators, cartoonists, and artists and writers working as a team, who do not have an agent and have not had a full-length graphic work commercially published. You can be age 18 or 100, or anything in between. You must be resident in the UK.

Entries may be from a single creator, or an artist/writer team, or may be a collaboration between comics artists, writers, and those with a story to tell who may be unable to do so themselves. We are looking for a wide range of creators from different regions within the UK, and with different backgrounds. We want to reflect our society, inclusive of neurodivergent and disabled people, and those with the full rainbow of social, gender and ethnic identities.

If you have any access needs in making this application, please get in touch with us at hello@cartoonmuseum.org

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

A 15-30 page extract from a narrative work in progress - nonfiction or fiction, with words (in English) or without, in black and white or in colour.

We are looking for graphic nonfiction, reportage, fiction in any genre, with or without words, in black and white or colour. We cannot pair artists and writers, and we do not accept any scripts, with or without illustration samples. We want comics!

We need to see how YOU want your finished pages to look. We need to see at least eight pages of finished artwork. The rest of the pages are acceptable as readable roughs with text and images clearly sketched out.

We require the work to be submitted both DIGITALLY and as PRINTOUTS (in black and white or colour) to ensure that the judges have access to all the entries. If you have any access needs in making this application, please get in touch with us at hello@cartoonmuseum.org

The winning entrant[s] agree[s] to the use of his/her name[s] and photograph[s] in relation to publicity material. The winning entrant (or entrants) also agrees that SelfMadeHero has first option to consider the finished work for publication.

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