The longlist for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition has been announced today and, as you’d expect from a publisher of Myriad’s acclaim, it’s a list full of diverse artistic approaches to comics and distinctively varied subject matter. This is a competition, after all, that’s given us winners as different as Gareth Brookes’s The Black Project and Jade Sarson’s For the Love of God, Marie! in previous incarnations.
From our own perspective we couldn’t be more delighted to see our 2017 Broken Frontier ‘Six Small Press Creators to Watch‘ artist Sabba Khan included (you can read an extensive interview with Sabba at Broken Frontier here) and, of course, our very own BF team member Jenny Robins also on the longlist. In Jenny’s case it complements her similar inclusion on the recent longlist for the Laydeez do Comics Prize. There are a number of names familiar to BF readers from our coverage over the years, some expected crossover with the Laydeez Prize and, just as exciting, a few names that are new to even us here at Broken Frontier!
Work by Sabba Khan and Jenny Robins
I had the pleasure of being a judge for the last Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition back in 2014 and I can genuinely say it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in all my years at Broken Frontier. As I said at the time “As someone who actively champions exciting new comics prospects through my work at Broken Frontier I cannot stress enough the importance of publishers like Myriad who are proactively looking to nurture previously unpublished creators. It hardly needs saying that the British small press scene is replete with comics practitioners deserving to be seen by a greater readership. It was a privilege indeed to be a part of a process that recognised and appreciated that wealth of talent!”
Previous winners Gareth Brookes and Jade Sarson
You can read what the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition has meant to previous winners, shortlisted creators and judges in our major 2016 piece here. And for more on Myriad check out our Myriad Week celebration at Broken Frontier here last year!
Congratulations to all the shortlisted artists from us here at Broken Frontier! They’re listed below with their graphic novels-in-progress in the official Myriad press release.
Myriad Editions is delighted to announce that they have longlisted twenty- one entrants to their First Graphic Novel Competition 2018.
The competition offers the winner the chance to develop their work with the publisher, with a view to contract and publication. The competition is open to all cartoonists, writers and artists who have not previously published a full-length graphic work.
This year, the prize is judged by cartoonists Kate Evans and Martin Rowson, writer Wei Ming Kam and journalist Sarah Shaffi – co-founders of BAME in Publishing – and Myriad Creative Director, Corinne Pearlman. It continues Myriad’s mission to provide opportunities for cartoonists, writers and artists 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.
The shortlist will be decided in early May, and the winner revealed at an event in June. The competition is a companion to the Myriad First Drafts competition for debut novelists. Myriad has published the two previous competition winners and four other books by shortlisted authors, and other works by authors introduced to Myriad through the competition.
The longlisted entries are:
- Rima Sabina Aouf YUGO
- Panos Baras ONE PAIR OF SHOES
- Cathy Brett WHO KILLED JO-JO
- Hari Conner FINDING HOME
- Julienne Durber SMOKE
- Shaun Gardiner THE BOY WITH NAILS
- Shey Hargreaves & Charli Vince OPEN DAY
- Sally-Anne Hickman BLACK DIAMONDS AND BLUE SCARS
- Sabba Khan PLURALISM
- Kim L Pace NUCLEAR FAMILY
- Clarrie Pope & Blanche Pope WELCOME HOME
- Jane Porter THE GHOST CARP
- Jenny Robins BISCUITS (ASSORTED)
- Gemma Sheldrake THE CRAVING SEA
- Jeeti Singh I’LL BE FINE
- Zara Slattery COMA COMIC
- The Surreal McCoy THE WOLF OF BAGHDAD
- Anna Trench EZRA STONELEIGH
- Alexandria Turner THE BOOK OF RODGER
- Sarah Ushurhe PERSEVERE
- Ethan Wiltshire I NEVER KNEW YOU
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