In response to the expansion of high-quality graphic novels, Pop Culture Classroom–the non-profit behind Denver Comic Con–launched the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. The inaugural list of nominees are as follows:
Best in Children’s Books: Fiction
- Bolivar by Sean Rubin (Boom! Studios)
- Good Night, Planet by Liniers (TOON Books)
- Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham (First Second)
- The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner (Macmillan)
- Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim (Little Bigfoot)
Best in Children’s Books: Non-Fiction
- Bats: Learning to Fly by Falynn (Koch First Second)
Best in Middle-Grade Books: Fiction
- As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (Iron Circus Comics)
- Cici’s Journal by Joris Chamberlain and Aurelie Neyret (First Second)
- Dawn and the Impossible Three by Ann M. Martin and Gale Galligan (Scholastic Graphix)
- Solution Squad by Jim MacClain (Solution Squad Publishing)
- Soupy Leaves Home by Cecil Castellucci and Jose Pimienta (Dark Horse Comics)
- The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag (Scholastic Graphix)
- Honorable Mention: Brave by Svetlana Chmakova (YEN Press)
Best in Young Adult Books: Fiction
- Home Time: Book One by Campbell Whyte (Top Shelf)
- I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina, Stacey Robinson, and John Jennings (TU Books/Lee & Low)
- Quince by Sebastian Kadlecik, Kit Steinkellner, and Emma Steinkeller (Fanbase Press)
- Spill Zone by Scott Westerfield and Alex Puvilland (First Second)
- The Wendy Project by Melissa Jane Osborne and Veronica Fish (Supergenius/Papercutz)
Best in Young Adult Books: Non-Fiction
- Fire! The Zora Neale Houston Story by Peter Bagge (Drawn & Quarterly)
- Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green (Lion Forge)
- Poppies of Iraq by Brigitte Finakly and Lewis Trondheim (Drawn & Quarterly)
- The Senses by Matteo Farinella (Nobrow Press)
- Spinning by Tillie Walden (First Second)
Best in Adult Books: Fiction
- Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata (Gallery 13)
- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
- Park Bench by Christophe Chaboute (Gallery 13)
- Roughneck by Jeff Lemiere (Gallery 13)
- The Sound of the World by Heart by Giacomo Bevilacqua (Lion Forge)
Best in Adult Books: Non-Fiction
- Calamity Jane: The Calamitous Life of Martha Jane Cannary by Christian Perrissin and Mattheiu Blanchin (IDW Publishing)
- Hostage by Guy Delisle (Drawn & Quarterly)
- Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 (Penn State University Press)
- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui (Abrams Comic Arts)
- The Hunting Accident by David L. Carson and Landis Blair (First Second)
Mosaic Award
- As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman (Iron Circus Comics)
- Good Night, Planet by Liniers (TOON Books) Spanish and English language versions
- Monstress Vol. 2 by Marjorie Liu (Image)
- Mis(h)adra by Iasmin Omar Ata (Gallery 13)
- Quince by Sebastian Kadlecik, Kit Steinkellner, and Emma Steinkeller (Fanbase Press)
- Soupy Leaves Home by Cecil Castellucci and Jose Pimienta (Dark Horse Comics)
- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui (Abrams Comic Arts)
- Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim (Little Bigfoot)
Book of the Year
- Bats: Learning to Fly by Falynn (Koch First Second)
- Cici’s Journal by Joris Chamberlain and Aurelie Neyret (First Second)
- Home Time: Book One by Campbell Whyte (Top Shelf)
- My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)
- Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham (First Second)
- Soupy Leaves Home by Cecil Castellucci and Jose Pimienta (Dark Horse Comics)
- Spill Zone by Scott Westerfield and Alex Puvilland (First Second)
- The Hunting Accident by David L. Carson and Landis Blair (First Second)
The winners will be announced at Denver Comic Con, June 15 through 17. You can watch the nominees announced exclusively in the KidLit TV video below.
