Posted in: Comics | Tagged: British comixs, caliburn prize, David Leach, Harry Markos, James Wills, kieron gillen, lfcc, Oriana Leckert, prize, Rachael Smith, tony lee

16 Days For New UK Comics Creators To Claim £2500 Prize & Hotel Room

The Caliburn Prize is a new UK comic-based literary grant to recognise "fresh and unpublished voices in comics with a £2,500 prize.

Earlier this year, Bleeding Cool reported on the existence of The Hooded Man Caliburn Prize for Comic Creation, or The Caliburn Prize for short. A new UK comic-based literary grant from Tony Lee's Hooded Media that intends to recognise "fresh and unpublished voices in the world of comic and graphic novel creation" as a £2,500 grant aimed at helping unpublished UK-based creators get a foot on the comics ladder. Yes, that's two thousand, five hundred pounds.

Tony just tweeted however that, with nine days to go, the field may be wide open for someone who wants to come and grab the cash., He tweeted "10 days before this closes, and the response has been… underwhelming. For years I've had new UK creators complain to me they get no funding or help. I gave both here. Out of my own pocket. Sadly, I don't think there'll be a 2024 prize, based on this year's response."

Surely some UK comic book creator would like £2500 and a hotel room? Because the winner will be announced at the 2023 London Film & Comic Con on the 8th of July. In addition to the prize money, the winning creator/team will also gain a free table and hotel at 2024 London Film & Comic Con, courtesy of organisers Showmasters Events, a year's membership of both the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund (CBLDF) and the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), thanks to assistance from both organisations, and an hour-long zoom call with Oriana Leckert, Director of Publishing and Comics Outreach for Kickstarter. It is open to all unpublished UK-based comic creators, with the end goal of assisting them in completing their first finished book.

Tony now says "Due to people not seeing this due to algorithms / missed emails etc, I've spoken to the team and we're extending this for one week to the 7th June. Hopefully that'll give people time to get things together. Also, if you're unsure (after the FAQs) you qualify, email us." So that's sixteen days now.

To be considered, UK entrants must submit a project containing eight pages of finished comic, a finished cover with logo, a one-page synopsis of the story and a one-page biography list of all creators involved. After the close of submissions, the shortlisted candidates will move on to a judging panel of award-winning writers, artists, editors, publishers, and literary agents before a decision is made, and the winner will be announced at the London Film & Comic Con on July 8th, 2023. The judges will be Kieron Gillen, David Leach, Oriana Leckert, Rachael Smith, James Wills, Harry Markos, Tony Lee and… me. Blimey. Honoured to be asked. And I'm going to make sure it happens. By waving the following in front of people. Five handfuls of these.

And maybe one of these as well.

"When I started in comics, it was a different world," Tony Lee explained. "I was able to walk into a publisher with experience in other media under my belt, but many of today's creators don't have the same advantages I did, as the industry has massively changed over the last twenty years, and the doors I entered through are now boarded up. The prize fund is a way to help the next generation of comic creators find their own route into the room where it happens." Named after the sword in the stone from Arthurian mythos, the Caliburn Prize is a contest running from the 9th of February until the 7th of June 2023. That is just sixteen days away.

"As a fan of Arthurian legends, the sword in the stone was this item that could change the life of anyone – if they managed to pull it – and it resonated with what I wanted to do here," Tony says. "This is a prize that can change the trajectory of the winner, as they not only get the funds to help finish the book, but thanks to Showmasters Events they have a place they can reveal it, and with the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund, the Alliance of Independent Authors and Oriana Leckert, with her Kickstarter knowledge, they can progress the project to the next level."

The Caliburn Prize was also created to honour the memory of Doreen Lee, who died of cancer in 2004. "Mum was my biggest supporter when I started, and always looked for ways she could help me," Tony finished. "I got my first Marvel work shortly before she passed, and it was one of the greatest feelings in my life to show her the finished book, but the enthusiasm and advice she gave me back then is still felt and used now, all these years later."

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