Nominees for the 2020 Doug Wright Awards, which honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics,” were announced this week. Conundrum Press leads the pack this year in terms of nominations, with four, while Drawn & Quarterly and Koyama Press each received two nominations.
The Doug Wright Awards also announced that Walter Ball, a longtime cartoonist for the Toronto Star and creator of the strip Rural Route, will be inducted into the “Giants of the North” hall of fame.
You can find the complete list of nominees below.
The Doug Wright Award for best book
This Place: 150 Years Retold
Kateri
Akiwenzie-Damm, Sonny Assu, Brandon Mitchell, Rachel and Sean
Qitsualik-Tinsley, David A. Robertson, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair,
Jen Storm, Richard Van Camp, Katherena Vermette, Chelsea Vowel, Tara
Audibert, Kyle Charles, GMB Chomichuk, Natasha Donovan, Scott A. Ford,
Scott B. Henderson, Ryan Howe, Andrew Lodwick, Jen Storm, Donovan
Yaciuk, Alicia Elliott
HighWater Press
The Cursed Hermit
Kris Bertin, Alexander Forbes
Conundrum Press
Bezimena
Nina Bunjevac
Fantagraphics Books
Agnes, Murderess
Sarah Leavitt
Freehand Books
Death Threat
Vivek Shraya, Ness Lee
Arsenal Pulp Press
Bradley of Him
Connor Willumsen
Koyama Press
The Nipper: The Doug Wright Award for emerging talent
D. Boyd
Chicken Rising
Conundrum Press
Jason Bradshaw
Things Go Wrong
Paper Rocket
Sylvia Nickerson
Creation
Drawn & Quarterly
Ben O’Neil
Apologetica
Popnoir Editions
Cole Pauls
Dakwäkãda Warriors
Conundrum Press
The Pigskin Peters: The Doug Wright Award for best small- or micro-press book
Boumeries, Vol. 9
Boum
Self-published
Gleem
Freddy Carrasco
Peow Studios
Baby in the Boneyard
Jesse Jacobs
Hollow Press
Curb Angels
Lisa Mendis, Christopher Ducharme, Lucas C. Pauls
At Bay Press
Dejects
Jay Stephens
Black Eye Books
The Egghead: The Doug Wright Award for best kids’ book
Brick Breaks Free
David Craig
Self-published
The Worst Book Ever
Elise Gravel
Drawn & Quarterly
Lunch Quest
Chris Kuzma
Koyama Press
Dakwäkãda Warriors
Cole Pauls
Conundrum Press
Alma and the Beast
Esme Shapiro
Tundra Books
This year’s judges for the awards include Shanda Deziel, Deborah Dundas, Meags Fitzgerald, Jesse Jacobs, Calum Johnston, Alison McCreesh, Serah-Marie McMahon, Noah Van Sciver, Todd Stewart, Philip Street, Maurice Vellekoop and Kat Verhoeven. The awards are usually announced at TCAF, which has been canceled this year due to the coronavirus, so this year’s they are presenting them online on May 9 at 8 p.m.