Kate Beaton, Rachel Smythe + more win at the 2023 Harvey Awards

The awards were presented last night in conjunction with the New York Comic Con.

Last night the Harvey Awards were given out at New York Comic Con, in the six categories the awards program reintroduced in 2018.

Kate Beaton’s critically acclaimed Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands added another accolade to its shelf, taking home the award for “Book of the Year.” And Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus defended the “Digital Book of the Year” category, taking home the Harvey for a second year. And somehow the big blockbuster film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was able to squeak out a victory against The Stuff of Legend – The Board Game in the always odd “Best Adaptation” category.

Six creators were inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame: Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, Marv Wolfman, George Pérez and Bill Griffith.

A committee of “diverse industry voices including creators, publishing professionals, retailers, educators and librarians” determined the nominees, and the winners were chosen by creators and other industry professionals. Check out the full list of winners below.

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Emily Carrington’s ‘Our Little Secret’ wins the 2023 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize

Kate Beaton’s ‘Ducks’ was named an ‘honor book’ by the awards program.

Our Little Secret, Emily Carrington’s account of her abuse by a neighbor as a child and her attempts as an adult to find justice and peace, has won the 2021 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. Drawn and Quarterly published the graphic novel in March of 2022.

The award comes with a $2,500 prize, and the winner is chosen by a panel of judges.

“In this graphic memoir, Emily Carrington takes readers through her traumatic story of childhood abuse. While the novel begins with a warning, it only partially prepares the reader for the powerful narrative and emotional rollercoaster that they are about to be taken on,” the judges said. “Throughout the journey, Carrington expertly uses the graphic novel format to set the tone and pace the narrative. The story is clear and engaging and invites readers to witness the author’s futile quest for redress through the courts. This cultivates empathy and performs a kind of grassroots justice without sacrificing literary and artistic excellence. Carrington’s visuals are confident and original. She uses metaphor beautifully, and seamlessly weaves surrealist threads throughout the narrative. ‘Our Little Secret’ is fluid, utterly engaging, and evokes empathy and compels action.”

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Kate Beaton, Jonathan Dyck + more win at the 2023 Doug Wright Awards

Henriette Valium was inducted into the Giants of the North hall of fame.

The winners of the 2023 Doug Wright Awards were announced during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last night, in an in-person ceremony that was also livestreamed from the Arts & Letters Club in Toronto.

In what could become a common refrain during this year’s award season, Kate Beaton’s Ducks took home the award for best book. The critically acclaimed graphic novel details Beaton’s time working in Fort McMurray during Alberta’s oil rush. Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth’s You Know, Sex from Triangle Press received multiple nominations, and took home the award for best kids’ book.

The Doug Wright Awards annually honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics.” Here’s the complete list of winners:

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Can’t Wait for Comics | Kate Beaton is back

This week also brings new comics and graphic novels from Faith Erin Hicks, Jason Shiga, Jackie Morrow, Sarah Andersen, Mark Waid, Mahmud Asrar, Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino and more.

Welcome to Can’t Wait for Comics, your guide to what comics are arriving in comic book stores, bookstores and on digital.

I’ve pulled out some of the highlights below, but for the complete list of everything you might find at your local comic shop and on digital this week, you’ll want to check out one or more of the following:

As a reminder, things can change and what you find on the above lists may differ from what’s actually arriving in your local shop. So always check with your comics retailer for the final word on availability.

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