Michael DeForge and Walter Scott among finalists for 2021 Doug Wright Awards for Canadian comics
Michael DeForge and Walter Scott are among the finalists for 2021 Doug Wright Awards for Canadian comics.
The Doug Wright Awards annually celebrate the best in Canadian comics.
The awards are named after the late Ontario-based cartoonist Douglas Austin Wright. Wright wrote the weekly comic strip Doug Wright's Family which ran from 1949 to 1980.
Both DeForge and Scott are nominated for the Doug Wright Award for best book.
DeForge is nominated for Familiar Face.
A constant flow of radical updates from the government throw citizens into turmoil. At the government's department of complaints, the narrator of Familiar Face sorts through an endless pile of citizen-reported issues that range from trivial to heartbreaking.
DeForge is a Toronto-based creator who has won awards for comics like Leaving Richard's Valley, Dressing and Lose #1. Other acclaimed books include Stunt, Big Kids, Ant Colony, Sticks Angelica Folk Hero and more.
Scott is nominated for Wendy, Master of Art.
In Wendy, Master of Art, Wendy is a serious art student at the University of Hell in a small Ontario town. As she works toward her Master Fine Arts, Wendy confronts her ever-ballooning insecurities, fears and doubts with therapy, excessive drinking and partying.
Scott is a Kahnawá:ke-born artist who lives in Toronto. He's published two other Wendy books, including Wendy's Revenge, and has appeared in The New Yorker and the Best American Comics anthology.
You can watch Scott discuss his work on In the Making on CBC Gem.
This year, 147 titles were submitted for consideration. Books published in the 2020 calendar year were eligible.
This year's jurors include Steven W. Beattie, Claudia Dávila, Jenn Haines, Paul G. Hammond, Brett Lamb, Shauna McCabe, Sylvia Nickerson, Emily Pohl-Weary, Sarah Sawler, Jonathan Valelly and Frank Viva. The winners of each prize will be determined by a three-person panel from this list.
It was also announced that Fred Kelly will be included to the Giants of the North Canadian cartoonist hall of fame.
Kelly was a writer and artist known for his work with Bell Features, which was published after the Second World War. This work included the creation of the character Mr. Monster. Kelly died in 2005.
You can see the full shortlists below.
The finalists for the Doug Wright Award for best book are:
- Lonely Boys by S. Bédard
- Familiar Face by Michael DeForge
- Constantly by GG
- Paul at Home by Michel Rabagliati
- Wendy, Master of Art by Walter Scott
The finalists for the The Nipper, which is for emerging talent, are:
- A Gleaming No. 2 by Adam de Souza
- The Space In Between by Kimberly Edgar
- We Don't Go Through the Angelgrass I by Courtney Loberg
- Langosh & Peppi: Fugitive Days by Veronica Post
- Restless Bones by Shannon M. Reeves
The Pigskin Peters recognizes the best small or micro-press book. The finalists are:
- The Noiseless Din by Scott Carruthers
- The Desecration by Scott Carruthers and Sally McKay
- A Gleaming No. 2 by Adam de Souza
- The Space In Between by Kimberly Edgar
- Awkward Pause by Ryan Harby
The Egghead is for the best kids' book. The finalists are:
- A Slug Story by Mandi Kujawa & Hana Kujawa, illustrated by Claude St. Aubin & Lovern Kindziersk
- The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler
- Okay, Universe by Valérie Plante and Delphie Côté-Lacroix
- Grandmother School by Rina Singh, illustrated by Ellen Rooney
- Swift Fox All Along by Rebecca Thomas, illustrated by Maya McKibbin
The winners will be announced on My 8, 2021, in a virtual ceremony.
Past Doug Wright Award winners include Hartley Lin, Kate Beaton, Michael DeForge, Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki.
