Cape was swamped by entries of all shapes and sizes for the second year of the Observer/Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize. The extension of the story to two full pages of The Observer allowed imaginations and artwork to run riot and we received over 250 stories. The judges – Mark Haddon, Rutu Modan, Dan Franklin (Publisher,
Jonathan Cape) Suzanne Dean (Creative Director, Random House) Paul Gravett (COMICA)
and Rachel Cooke (The Observer) – were hard pressed to pick just two winners.

The judges were charmed by Untitled Cat Meets John Duende and the Spider Bear (Seven
Tillotson), enjoyed one-tooth dog and the moon (Linda Sarah), and were seduced by
Laurie J Proud’s haunting story Dead Lawrence. Chris Wood’s story An Argument Soon To
Be Lost In The Mists Of Time made them laugh, and the judges liked the quirky tale of the
enormous moustache - tache magic by Andrew Hawkins.

After much passionate discussion Isabel Greenberg’s topical morality tale Cheer-Up Love,
It’s Only A Credit Crunch and the innovative What Do Other Married People Talk About by
Emily Haworth-Booth were declared joint runners up. They get a stack of graphic novels
and a nice cheque for £150 each.

The judges were unanimous when it came to picking a winner and awarded the 1st Prize
to Julian Hanshaw’s Sand Dunes and Sonic Booms. They loved the evocative tale, the
sepia colour scheme and felt Hanshaw married strong narrative with outstanding drawing.
He will receive the cheque for £1000 at a ceremony at The ICA at 4pm on
Sunday 16th November and his story will appear in The Observer on the same day.

CLICK ON ANY LINK TO VIEW SAMPLES OF THE WINNING ARTWORK