Doug Wright Awards

The Doug Wright Awards are literary awards handed out annually to Canadian cartoonists. The awards are named for Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright, and honour the best in English-language comics and graphic novels. The awards are chosen by a jury of five, based on selections provided by a nomination committee. Awards are given out each year in two categories, "Best Book" and "Best Emerging Talent".

The winners of the 1st annual Wright Awards, which were presented in May 2005 in association with the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, were "Clyde Fans, Book One" by Seth (Best Book) and "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Best Emerging Talent).

The winners of the 2006 trophies, given out on 14 September 2006 at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, were "Paul Moves Out" by Michel Rabagliati (Best Book) and "Dark Adaptation" by Lorenz Peter (Best Emerging Talent). The late George Feyer was also inducted into the new Giants of the North Hall of Fame.

The third annual Wright Awards were held in Toronto on August 16, 2007 as part of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. The Best Emerging Talent trophy was won by Rebecca Kraatz for her book, "House of Sugar". The Best Book award went to "This Will All End in Tears", by cartoonist Joe Ollman.

Rand Holmes was inducted into the Giants of the North.

The award itself is in the form of a large wood-and-glass trophy, engraved with images from Wright's comic strip. It was designed by the cartoonist Seth, who admitted to some embarrassment at being the inaugural winner of the trophy he designed. [cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/05/30/Arts/dougwright050530.html|title="Canadian cartoonists honoured in Toronto"|work=CBC Arts|accessdate=September 20|accessyear=2006]

Controversy

The Doug Wright Awards have been accused of "discriminating" against French-language cartoonists. [cite web|url=http://www.comicbookbin.com/The_Wrights_Awards001.html|title="The Wright Awards Discriminate Against Canadians"|work=Comic Book Bin|accessdate=August 14|accessyear=2008] Brad Mackay, from the Doug Wright Awards responded that "All of those involved with The Doug Wright Awards are committed to the best in Canadian comics, and that includes work created by francophone cartoonists." [cite web|url=http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/a_response_from_the_doug_wright_awards_regarding_the_charge_they_discrimina/|title="A Response From The DWAs Regarding The Charge That They Discriminate"|work=The Comics Reporter|accessdate=August 14|accessyear=2008]

Nominees/Winners

2005

Best Book (Winners in bold)

*"Worn Tuff Elbow #1" by Marc Bell (Fantagraphics Books)
*"Pamplemoussi" by Geneviève Castrée (L'Oie de Cravan)
*"The Frank Ritza Papers" by David Collier (Drawn & Quarterly)
*" vol. 1" by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics)
*"Clyde Fans, Book One" by Seth (D&Q)

Best Emerging Talent (Winners in bold)
*"Rabbithead" by Rebecca Dart (Alternative Comics)
*" [http://salgoodsam.com/revolver/ Revolver] #1" by Max Douglas / Salgood Sam (self-published)
*"Canvas" by Alex Fellows (Fantagraphics)
*"Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press)

2006

Best Book (Winners in bold)
* "" by Guy Delisle (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 Press)
* "Paul Moves Out" by Michel Rabagliati (D&Q)
* "Wimbledon Green" by Seth (D&Q)

Best Emerging Talent (Winners in bold)
* "Northwest Passage Vol. 1" by Scott Chantler (Oni)
* "The Unexpurgated Tale of Lordie Jones" by Marc Ngui (Conundrum Press)
* "Dark Adaptation" by Lorenz Peter
* "Skim" by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
* "" by James Turner (Slave Labor Graphics)

2007

Best Book (Winners in bold)
*"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 (Winners in bold)
*"Gray Horses" by Hope Larson (Oni)
*"House of Sugar" by Rebecca Kraatz (Tulip Tree Press)
*"Was She Pretty?" by Leanne Shapton (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
*"Bacter-area" by Keith Jones (D&Q)
*"Mendacity" by Tamara Berger & Sophie Cossette (Kiss Machine)

2008

Best Book

"365 Days: A Diary" Julie Doucet (Drawn and Quarterly) "Spent" Joe Matt (Drawn and Quarterly) "The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam" Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books) "Southern Cross" Laurence Hyde (Drawn and Quarterly)

Best Emerging Talent

"Tales From The Farm Vol. 1: Essex County" and "Vol. 2: Ghost Stories" Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf) "Pope Hats" Ethan Rilly (self-published) "Kieffer #1" Jason Kieffer (self-published) "The Experiment" Nick Maandag (self-published)

This year marks the debut of 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 The Pigskin Peters Award recognizes non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics that challenge our preconceptiosn of the medium.

The finalists for the first annual Pigskin Peters Award are:

"Milk Teeth" Julie Morstad (Drawn and Quarterly)

"Little Lessons in Safety" Emily Holton (Conundrum Press)

"Excelsior 1968" John Martz (self-published)

"Fire Away" Chris von Szombathy (Drawn and Quarterly)

References

External links

* [http://www.wrightawards.ca Wright Awards homepage]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-68-2352-13715/arts_entertainment/canadian_comics/clip7 "Doug Wright's family", CBC TV profile of Wright from 1968.]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2007/08/18/wright-cartoon-winners.html?ref=rss Artists honoured for comics hailing nostalgia, everyday life]