Cartoon Art Museum, Prism Comics and Queer Comics Expo are proud to announce the opening of applications for the FIFTH ANNUAL PRISM AWARDS and Queer Comics Expo in 2021!
Awards will be presented to comic works by queer authors and works that promote the growing body of diverse, powerful, innovative, positive or challenging representations of LGBTQAI+ characters in fiction or nonfiction comics. The goal of the Awards is to recognize, promote and celebrate diversity and excellence in the field of queer comics.
The Queer Comics Expo launched as an annual event in 2014 as a celebration of queer culture and to promote diverse queer representation in comics, animation, and other great ways to tell our stories. QCE also serves as a fundraiser for San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum. This year the event will take place May 15-16, 2021. Applications to participate as a creator or presenter for 2021 are OPEN until Monday, March 15, 2021 and will be NOTIFIED by Thursday, April 15, 2021.
Submit your work for the Prism Awards or apply to be part of the Queer Comics Expo at cartoonart.org/qcexpo.
Prism Awards Timeline:
Online Submissions will remain open January 4 – February 28, 2021.
A self-published or traditionally published comic of 32 pages or less, which was first printed or posted online between January 1 2020 and December 31 2020 . Entries to this category should be a complete story, NOT an excerpt from a longer work. Please submit the entire comic as a PDF.
A comic that is primarily/initially published online. Webcomics may submit a linked PDF or link to the first comic eligible that they would like the judges to start at, however judges will decided based on episode length how many comics to read up to a max of 32 episodes or less. Can be a complete or ongoing story. If sending a PDF please submit no more than 32 pages or strips that were first posted between January 1 2020 and December 31 2020.
A comic published by a self-owned, small or midsize press during 2020. We are leaving it up to the entrant to self-select into this category, but reserve the right to move the work into the Mainstream Publisher category if appropriate. Submit only one issue/chapter/excerpt from each title. Please submit an excerpt of no more than 32 pages in PDF form.
A comic published by a mainstream publisher during 2020. We are leaving it up to the entrant to self-select into this category, but reserve the right to move the work into the Small to Midsize press category if appropriate. Submit only one issue/chapter/excerpt from each title. Please submit an excerpt of no more than 32 pages in PDF form.Best Comic Anthology
A collection of shorter works created by at least four different authors, either self-published or traditionally published during 2020. Submit the entire anthology in PDF form.
*NEW* Best Comic for Young Readers
Our new category this year, the Young Readers Award is for comics whose target audience is for 13 and under, regardless of publishing size. Work must have been created between January 2020 and December 31 2020. Please submit an excerpt or short story of 32 pages or less in PDF form.