Entries open for Graphic Short Story Prize – United Kingdom and Ireland

Take this opportunity to get your work read by industry experts. The judges are Angus Cargill (Faber & Faber), Rachel Cooke (Observer), Paul Gravett (Comica), Tom Oldham (Gosh! comics), and the authors and artists Luke Healy and Posy Simmonds.

Funding Information

• The first prize is £1,000 and publication in the Observer New Review.
• The runner-up will receive £250 and their work will appear on theguardian.com.

Terms and Conditions

• T&Cs – By entering this competition you agree to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions.
• Entrants – This competition is open to anyone aged sixteen and over who is a resident of the UK or the Republic of Ireland, except for employees of Faber & Faber (promoter), the Observer, Comica, their families and any other company connected with the competition. The promoter will only accept 1 (one) entry per entrant subject to point 6 below.
• Dates – Graphic stories entries will be accepted until Monday 16 September 2024 (closing date). The winning entrant and runner-up will be notified by email before the end of the year. The name of the winning entrant and runner-up will also be announced and printed in the Observer New Review within six months of entries closing (exact date TBC).
• Copyright/Ownership – Entrants will own and retain any copyright in their entries. Where an entry is produced as the result of the collaboration of a writer and an artist (i.e., joint authors), the promoter will accept the joint authors of the entry as joint entrants.
• Entry Specifications – Entrants are advised to retain a copy of entries. Entries can be with or without words, in black and white or colour, and fiction or non-fiction. Each entry must be:
  • in English;
  • an original work of which the entrant is the author (or joint author in respect of point 5 above), which has not been previously professionally or commercially published and is not in breach of any third party right.
  • complete in itself (i.e., not a fragment of a larger work).
  • designed to run as a four-page story across a double-page
  • spread in the Observer New Review (i.e., so the design should be able to be scaled up or down to fit the dimensions of the paper).
  • Each page of your story will appear in the Observer at 150mm wide x 260mm high
  • NB: No work can be returned. Copies of original works will be accepted.
  • Unacceptable Entries – Entries which are illegible or received after the closing date will not be accepted. The promoter will not be responsible for delayed, undelivered or lost entries.
• Events – Events may occur which render the awarding of the prizes impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the promoter, and the promoter may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend or withdraw the prizes with or without notice.
• Judges – The competition will be judged by six judges who will look for emerging talent and seek to identify writers/artists of excellent and original graphic short stories. The judges’ decisions will be final and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to their decisions or the competition.
• Winning Entrant – The winning entrant [and runner-up] grant[s] the Observer, the promoter and Comica all necessary and relevant permissions in relation to the publication of the winning entr[y/ies] in the Observer, on www.theguardian.com and www.faber.co.uk, and at the Comica festival. The winning entrant [and runner-up] also agree[s] to the promoter’s use of his/her name[s] and photograph[s] in relation to publicity material. The Observer, the promoter and Comica each reserve the right to edit the winning [and runner-up] entr[y/ies] in respect of the above publication.
• Data – Personal details will only be retained and used by the promoter for the purposes of this competition and will be deleted thereafter, unless the box above has been ticked, in which case personal details will be retained as indicated. Personal details will not be passed on to third parties.
• The Promoter – The promoter’s details are: Faber & Faber, The Bindery, 51 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8HN.

For more information, visit Faber.