Doug Wright Award

The Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning (established in December 2004), handed out annually since 2005 during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, are literary awards given to Canadian cartoonists. Honouring excellence in comics (including webcomics) and graphic novels published in English (including translated works), the awards are named in honour of Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright. Winners are selected by a jury of Canadians who have made significant contributions to national culture, based on shortlisted selections provided by a nominating committee of five experts in the comics field.

The Wright Awards are handed out in four categories:

In addition to the awards, since 2005 the organizers annually induct at least one cartoonist into the Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall Fame.

The Wright Awards are modeled after traditional book prizes, with the intention of drawing attention to the comics medium from a broad range of demographics inside and outside of its traditional fanbase. The Wrights have garnered acclaim as well as earning the support of a diverse range of participating artists and jurors including Scott Thompson, Don McKellar, Bruce McDonald, Jerry Ciccoritti, Bob Rae, Andrew Coyne, Sara Quin, Greg Morrison, Chester Brown, Lorenz Peter, and Nora Young.

The Best Book and The Nipper (Spotlight) awards are large wood-and-glass trophies which are engraved with images from Wright's comic strip (the one difference being the images that are etched on the glass). The award were designed by the cartoonist Seth, who admitted to some embarrassment at being the inaugural winner of the trophy he designed. The Pigskin Peters Award, named in honour of a character from Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center, is a custom, tailored derby hat with its own unique plaque that doubles as a hat post. It was also designed by Seth.

Each recipient of a Doug Wright Award also receives a custom-bound copy of their winning work.

Source:

The Doug Wright Award for best book