Doug Wright Awards
Encyclopedia
The Doug Wright Awards are literary awards handed out annually to Canadian
cartoonist
s, honouring excellence in works published in English. The awards are named for Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright. Winners are selected by a jury of five Canadians who have made significant contributions to national culture, based on shortlisted selections provided by a nominating committee of five experts in the comics field. The Wrights are handed out in three categories, "Best Book", "Best Emerging Talent" and, since 2008, the "Pigskin Peters Award" for non-narrative or experimental works.
The Wright Awards are modeled after traditional book prizes, with the intention of drawing attention to the comics medium from a broad range of demographics inside and outside of its traditional fanbase. The Wrights have garnered acclaim as well as earning the support of a diverse range of participating artists and jurors including Don McKellar
, Bruce McDonald, Jerry Ciccoritti
, Bob Rae
, Andrew Coyne
, Sara Quin, Greg Morrison
, Chester Brown
, Lorenz Peter, and Nora Young
.
, who admitted to some embarrassment at being the inaugural winner of the trophy he designed. The Pigskin Peters Award, named in honour of a character from Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center, is a custom, tailored derby hat with its own unique plaque that doubles as a hat post. It was also designed by Seth.
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
2008 introduced a new category dedicated to works that fall outside the bounds of traditional storytelling. Named after a character in the classic Canadian comic strip Birdseye Center, the Pigskin Peters Award recognizes non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics.
Pigskin Peters Award
, Andrew Coyne
, Martin Levin, Joe Ollmann and Diana Tamblyn.
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
Pigskin Peters Award
Winners of the 2009 Doug Wright Awards were announced on May 9, 2009 at the Art Gallery of Ontario
during a ceremony hosted by actor and director Don McKellar
.
, Fiona Smyth, and Carl Wilson.
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
Pigskin Peters Award
Winners of the 2010 Doug Wright Awards were announced on May 8, 2010 in the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon in the Toronto Reference Library
, during a ceremony hosted by actor Peter Outerbridge
.
, Anita Kunz
, Marc Bell, and Mark Medley.
Best Book
Best Emerging Talent
Pigskin Peters Award
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
s, honouring excellence in works published in English. The awards are named for Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright. Winners are selected by a jury of five Canadians who have made significant contributions to national culture, based on shortlisted selections provided by a nominating committee of five experts in the comics field. The Wrights are handed out in three categories, "Best Book", "Best Emerging Talent" and, since 2008, the "Pigskin Peters Award" for non-narrative or experimental works.
The Wright Awards are modeled after traditional book prizes, with the intention of drawing attention to the comics medium from a broad range of demographics inside and outside of its traditional fanbase. The Wrights have garnered acclaim as well as earning the support of a diverse range of participating artists and jurors including Don McKellar
Don McKellar
-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...
, Bruce McDonald, Jerry Ciccoritti
Jerry Ciccoritti
Jerry Ciccoritti is a Canadian film, television and theatre director. His ability to work in a number of genres and for many mediums has made him one of the most successful directors in the country.- Biography :...
, Bob Rae
Bob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, Andrew Coyne
Andrew Coyne
James Andrew Coyne is the national editor for Maclean's, a weekly national newsmagazine in Canada. Previously, he was a columnist with the National Post and an editor-in-chief of the University of Manitoba's newspaper, The Manitoban.-Background:Coyne was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Hope...
, Sara Quin, Greg Morrison
Greg Morrison
Greg Morrison is an Tony Award–winning and Drama Desk Award–winning Canadian writer and composer best known for his work on the music and lyrics of The Drowsy Chaperone, which he wrote with Lisa Lambert. He also has extensive credits directing and musical directing shows across the United States,...
, Chester Brown
Chester Brown
Chester William David Brown , is an award-winning, best-selling Canadian alternative cartoonist and, since 2008, the Libertarian Party of Canada's candidate for the riding of Trinity-Spadina in Toronto, Canada....
, Lorenz Peter, and Nora Young
Nora Young
Nora Young is a Canadian broadcaster and writer. She was the original host of CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, and has produced documentaries for CBC shows such as Ideas....
.
Awards
The Best Book and Best Emerging Talent awards are a large wood-and-glass trophy, engraved with images from Wright's comic strip. The award was designed by the cartoonist SethSeth (cartoonist)
Seth is the pen name of Gregory Gallant , a Canadian comic book artist and writer. He is best known for comics such as Palookaville.Born in Clinton, Ontario, Seth attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto...
, who admitted to some embarrassment at being the inaugural winner of the trophy he designed. The Pigskin Peters Award, named in honour of a character from Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center, is a custom, tailored derby hat with its own unique plaque that doubles as a hat post. It was also designed by Seth.
2005
Juried by Chester Brown, Rebecca Caldwell, Nora Young, Jerry Ciccoritti and Don McKellar.Best Book
- Worn Tuff Elbow #1 by Marc Bell (Fantagraphics BooksFantagraphics BooksFantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
) - Pamplemoussi by Geneviève CastréeGeneviève CastréeGeneviève Castrée is a Canadian comics artist, illustrator, and musician from Quebec. She once recorded under the name Woelv and has recently switched to Ô PAON. She was born in Loretteville, Quebec and now lives in the Pacific Northwestern United States...
(L'Oie de Cravan) - The Frank Ritza Papers by David CollierDavid Collier (cartoonist)David Collier is a Canadian alternative cartoonist best known for his fact-based "comic strip essays."- Biography :As a child, Collier was introduced to the work of Robert Crumb, whose work has been a significant influence...
(Drawn & Quarterly) - DC: The New FrontierDC: The New FrontierDC: The New Frontier is an Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning six-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, published by DC Comics in 2003-2004. It was then collected into two trade paperback volumes from 2004–2005 and then an Absolute Edition in 2006...
vol. 1 by Darwyn CookeDarwyn CookeDarwyn Cooke is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer, artist, cartoonist and animator, best known for his work on the comic books Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier, The Spirit and Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter.-Career:...
(DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
) - Clyde Fans, Book One by SethSeth (cartoonist)Seth is the pen name of Gregory Gallant , a Canadian comic book artist and writer. He is best known for comics such as Palookaville.Born in Clinton, Ontario, Seth attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto...
(D&Q)
Best Emerging Talent
- Rabbithead by Rebecca Dart (Alternative ComicsAlternative ComicsAlternative Comics may refer to:* Alternative Comics , a U.S. comic book publisher* alternative comics, a label for a range of comics, when written with extraneous caps...
) - Revolver #1 by Max DouglasMax DouglasMax Douglas is a Canadian comic book creator. Since approximately 1996, he has worked under the pen name of Salgood Sam which is derived from a reverse spelling of his name.-Biography:...
/ Salgood Sam (self-published) - Canvas by Alex Fellows (Fantagraphics)
- Scott PilgrimScott PilgrimScott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins...
's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'MalleyBryan Lee O'MalleyBryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist. He is best known for the Scott Pilgrim series, but is also a musician using the alias Kupek.-Career:...
(Oni PressOni PressOni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read...
)
2006
Juried by Justin Peroff, Alan Hunt and Ben Portis.Best Book
- Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy DelisleGuy DelisleGuy Delisle is a comic book author from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He studied animation at Sheridan College in Oakville, near Toronto, and then worked for the animation studio CinéGroupe in Montreal...
(D&Q) - Scott Pilgrim Versus the World by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
- Dragonslippers: This Is What an Abusive Relationship Looks Like by Rosalind B. Penfold (Grove PressGrove PressGrove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1951. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United States. The Atlantic Monthly Press, under the aegis of its...
) - Paul Moves Out by Michel RabagliatiMichel RabagliatiMichel Rabagliati is a Canadian cartoonist born and based in Montreal. He is published by Drawn and Quarterly in English, and La Pastèque in French....
(D&Q) - Wimbledon Green by Seth (D&Q)
Best Emerging Talent
- Northwest PassageNorthwest PassageThe Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
Vol. 1 by Scott Chantler (Oni) - The Unexpurgated Tale of Lordie Jones by Marc Ngui (Conundrum PressConundrum Press (Canada)Conundrum Press is a book publishing company located in Montreal, Canada, founded in 1995 by Andy Brown.-Affiliated authors:Conundrum is renowned in Canadian publishing for its innovative, wide-ranging, often genre-defying, books of fiction, cultural history, graphic novels, spoken word and artist...
) - Dark Adaptation by Lorenz Peter
- SkimSkim (graphic novel)Skim is a Canadian graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and drawn by Jillian Tamaki. Set in 1993, in a Toronto Catholic girls high school, it is about an outsider girl called Skim.-Plot:...
by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki - Nil: A Land Beyond BeliefNil: A Land Beyond BeliefNil: A Land Beyond Belief is a satirical dystopic graphic novel written and illustrated by James Turner. It was published in 2005 by SLG Press as ISBN 1-59362-020-9.-Overview:...
by James TurnerJames Turner (illustrator)James Turner is a Canadian illustrator, comic book writer, and artist. He wrote the series Rex Libris for the Slave Labor Graphics Publishing Company. The comic ran between 2005 and 2008, for a total of 13 issues...
(Slave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
)
2007
Juried by Bruce McDonald, Mark Kingwell, Judy MacDonald, Lorenz Peter and Jessica Johnson.Best Book
- Shenzen: A Travelogue From China by Guy Delisle (D&Q)
- This Will All End in Tears by Joe Ollman (Insomniac Press)
- Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
- Gilded Lilies by Jillian Tamaki (Conundrum Press)
- Nog-a-dod edited by Marc Bell (Conundrum Press)
Best Emerging Talent
- Gray Horses by Hope Larson (Oni)
- House of Sugar by Rebecca Kraatz (Tulip Tree Press)
- Was She Pretty? by Leanne ShaptonLeanne ShaptonLeanne Shapton is a Canadian artist and graphic novelist, now living in New York. Her second work, Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry, has been optioned for a film slated to star Brad Pitt and...
(Farrar, Strauss & Giroux) - Bacter-area by Keith Jones (D&Q)
- Mendacity by Tamara Berger & Sophie Cossette (Kiss Machine)
2008
Juried by Katrina Onstad, Ho Che Anderson, Marc Glassman, Mariko Tamaki and Helena Rickett.Best Book
- 365 Days: A Diary by Julie DoucetJulie DoucetJulie Doucet is a Canadian former underground cartoonist and artist, best known for her autobiographical works such as Dirty Plotte and My New York Diary...
(D&Q) - Spent by Joe MattJoe MattJoe Matt is an American cartoonist. He started drawing comics in 1987 and is best known for his autobiographical work, Peepshow. In addition to his cartooning career, he is known for his large collection of vintage Gasoline Alley comic strips. Matt lived in Canada from 1988 to 2002...
(D&Q) - The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie FlemingAnn Marie FlemingAnn Marie Fleming is an independent Canadian filmmaker, writer, and visual artist who was born in Okinawa, in 1962, of Chinese and Australian parentage. She has a B.A. in English from the University of British Columbia, a B.F.A. from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and the Open...
(Riverhead Books) - Southern Cross by Laurence Hyde (D&Q)
Best Emerging Talent
- Essex County Vol. 1: Tales from the Farm and Vol. 2: Ghost Stories by Jeff LemireJeff LemireJeff Lemire is a Canadian comics artist and writer. He is the author of the Essex County Trilogy, Sweet Tooth and The Nobody. Lemire is known for a his moody, humanistic stories and sketchy, cinematic, black-and-white art....
(Top Shelf ProductionsTop Shelf ProductionsTop Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. The company is based in Marietta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and New York City, New York....
) - Pope Hats by Ethan Rilly (self-published)
- Kieffer #1 by Jason Kieffer (self-published)
- The Experiment by Nick Maandag (self-published)
2008 introduced a new category dedicated to works that fall outside the bounds of traditional storytelling. Named after a character in the classic Canadian comic strip Birdseye Center, the Pigskin Peters Award recognizes non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics.
Pigskin Peters Award
- Milk Teeth by Julie Morstad (D&Q)
- Little Lessons in Safety by Emily HoltonEmily HoltonEmily Holton is a Canadian writer and artist.- Awards :Little Lessons in Safety was nominated in 2008 for a "Pigskin Peters" Doug Wright Award...
(Conundrum Press) - Excelsior 1968 by John Martz (self-published)
- Fire Away by Chris von Szombathy (D&Q)
2009
Juried by Bob RaeBob Rae
Robert Keith "Bob" Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP is a Canadian politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
, Andrew Coyne
Andrew Coyne
James Andrew Coyne is the national editor for Maclean's, a weekly national newsmagazine in Canada. Previously, he was a columnist with the National Post and an editor-in-chief of the University of Manitoba's newspaper, The Manitoban.-Background:Coyne was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Hope...
, Martin Levin, Joe Ollmann and Diana Tamblyn.
Best Book
- Burma Chronicles by Guy DelisleGuy DelisleGuy Delisle is a comic book author from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. He studied animation at Sheridan College in Oakville, near Toronto, and then worked for the animation studio CinéGroupe in Montreal...
(D&Q) - Drop-in by Dave LappDave LappDave Lapp is a cartoonist who lives in Toronto Canada. He works at a city drop in center, but has been creating alternatve comics for more than ten years.-Works:...
(Conundrum) - Paul Goes Fishing by Michel RabagliatiMichel RabagliatiMichel Rabagliati is a Canadian cartoonist born and based in Montreal. He is published by Drawn and Quarterly in English, and La Pastèque in French....
(D&Q) - Skim by Jillian & Mariko Tamaki (Groundwood)
Best Emerging Talent
- History Comics by Kate BeatonKate BeatonKate Beaton is a Canadian webcomic artist. Originally from Mabou, Cape Breton, she has a degree in history and anthropology from Mount Allison University. She began drawing comics for the university newspaper, the Argosy, during her third and fourth years at school. Previously she worked in the...
(self-published) - Maids in the Mist by Caitlin Black (self-published)
- Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow by Jesse Jacobs (self-published)
- Kieffer #2 by Jason Kieffer (self-published)
- Jack & Mandy by Nick Maandag (self-published)
Pigskin Peters Award
- Hall of Best Knowledge by Ray Fenwick (Fantagraphics)
- Ojingogo by Matthew Forsythe (D&Q)
- All We Ever Do is Talk About Wood by Tom Horacek (D&Q)
- Small Victories by Jesse Jacobs (self-published)
Winners of the 2009 Doug Wright Awards were announced on May 9, 2009 at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario
Under the direction of its CEO Matthew Teitelbaum, the AGO embarked on a $254 million redevelopment plan by architect Frank Gehry in 2004, called Transformation AGO. The new addition would require demolition of the 1992 Post-Modernist wing by Barton Myers and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg...
during a ceremony hosted by actor and director Don McKellar
Don McKellar
-Personal life:McKellar was born in Toronto, Ontario to a lawyer father and teacher mother. He attended Glenview Senior Public School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and later studied English at the University of Toronto's Victoria College...
.
2010
Juried by Matt Forsythe, Geoff PevereGeoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere is a Canadian and arts and media critic. He is the outgoing film critic for the Toronto Star, and, starting in 2008, will be the paper's book critic. He is also a host of the movie review series Reel to Real on Rogers Television....
, Fiona Smyth, and Carl Wilson.
Best Book
- Back + Forth by Marta Chudolinska (Porcupine's Quill)
- George Sprott: (1894–1975) by SethSeth (cartoonist)Seth is the pen name of Gregory Gallant , a Canadian comic book artist and writer. He is best known for comics such as Palookaville.Born in Clinton, Ontario, Seth attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto...
(D&Q) - Hot Potatoe by Marc Bell (D&Q)
- Kaspar by Diane Obomsawin (D&Q)
- Red: A Haida Manga by Michael Nicoll YahgulanaasMichael Nicoll YahgulanaasMichael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a visual artist, and creator of Haida manga, from Delkatla in Masset on Haida Gwaii.His work is exhibited in Japan, Korea, England, and Canada. In addition to works on paper, mulberry bark, canvases and metal sculptures Yahgulanaas continues to publish books...
(D&Q)
Best Emerging Talent
- I'm Crazy by Adam Bourret (self-published)
- Lose #1, Cold Heat Special #7 by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press; Picturebox)
- Nicolas by Pascal Girard (D&Q)
- It's Snowing Outside, We Should Go for a Walk by John Martz (self-published)
- The Hipless Boy by SullySully-People:* Hugh the Red of Sully, 13th century Sicilian general* Bishop Maurice de Sully , oversaw the building of Notre Dame de Paris; Bishop to Philippe II of France...
(Conundrum)
Pigskin Peters Award
- Bébête by Simon Bossé (L'Oie de Cravan)
- Dirty Dishes by Amy Lockhart (D&Q)
- Hot Potatoe by Marc Bell (D&Q)
- Never Learn Anything from History by Kate BeatonKate BeatonKate Beaton is a Canadian webcomic artist. Originally from Mabou, Cape Breton, she has a degree in history and anthropology from Mount Allison University. She began drawing comics for the university newspaper, the Argosy, during her third and fourth years at school. Previously she worked in the...
(self-published) - The Collected Doug Wright Volume One by Doug Wright (D&Q)
Winners of the 2010 Doug Wright Awards were announced on May 8, 2010 in the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon in the Toronto Reference Library
Toronto Reference Library
The Toronto Reference Library is located at 789 Yonge Street, one block north of Bloor Street, in Toronto, Ontario. Formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, the name was changed in 1998 when it was incorporated into the Toronto Public Library system..The 38,691 m² The Toronto Reference...
, during a ceremony hosted by actor Peter Outerbridge
Peter Outerbridge
Peter Outerbridge is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Dr. David Sandstrom in the TMN series ReGenesis, as William in Saw VI and his role as Dan Farmer in Happy Town.-Life and career:...
.
2011
Juried by Sara Quin, Michael RedhillMichael Redhill
Michael Redhill is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Redhill was raised in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario area. He pursued one year of study at Indiana University, and then returned to Canada, completing his education at York University and the...
, Anita Kunz
Anita Kunz
Anita E. Kunz, OC is a Canadian-born artist and illustrator.Kunz has lived in London, New York and Toronto, contributing to magazines and working for design firms, book publishers and advertising agencies in Germany, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Canada, South Africa, Holland, Portugal, France and England...
, Marc Bell, and Mark Medley.
Best Book
- Bigfoot by Pascal Girard (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Chimo by David CollierDavid Collier (cartoonist)David Collier is a Canadian alternative cartoonist best known for his fact-based "comic strip essays."- Biography :As a child, Collier was introduced to the work of Robert Crumb, whose work has been a significant influence...
(Conundrum Press) - Lose #2 by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press)
- Moving Pictures by Kathryn Immonen, Stuart ImmonenStuart ImmonenStuart Immonen is a Canadian comic book artist. He is best known for his work on Nextwave, Ultimate X-Men, The New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man...
(Top Shelf Productions) - Streakers by Nick Maandag
Best Emerging Talent
- Aaron Costain, Entropy # 5
- Alex Fellows, Spain and Morocco
- Keith JonesKeith JonesKeith Jones may refer to:*Keith Jones , former American football running back*Keith Jones , English former footballer...
, Catland Empire (Drawn and Quarterly) - James Stokoe, Orc Stain Volume One (Image)
- Tin Can Forest (aka Marek Colek and Pat Shewchuk), Baba Yaga and the Wolf (Koyama Press)
Pigskin Peters Award
- Indoor Voice by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Stooge Pile by Seth Scriver (Drawn and Quarterly)
- So I've Been Told by Maryanna Hardy (Conundrum Press)
- Spotting Deer by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press)
- Wowee Zonk #3 edited by Patrick Kyle, Ginette Lapalme and Chris Kuzma (Koyama Press)