Description
The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library is pleased to announce the Newberry Medieval Minicomic Prize. Generously funded by the Medieval Academy of America, two juried mini-grants of $250.00 each will support emerging artists who are primarily self-published for the creation of a new minicomic that engages with medieval culture.
The prize program was inspired by Cartooning the Medieval, a collaborative workshop and conference at the Newberry Library in 2025 that brought together professional cartoonists and medievalists to imagine new opportunities for sharing medieval culture through comics. The Newberry Medieval Minicomic Prizes will continue this mission by funding original work that reflects on, engages with, and/or takes inspiration from medieval manuscripts, printed books, visual art, and objects.
The prize will consist of:
- $250.00 towards printing costs for an original work
- Mentorship from Newberry staff on working with medieval culture (see below)
- The opportunity to be featured in Newberry publications
- The opportunity to sell work in the Newberry Bookshop
- One copy of each winning comic will be entered into the Newberry collection
Timeline
- Application deadline: October 17, 2025
- Winners will be notified by the end of November 2025
- 3 copies of the completed comics must be delivered to the Newberry by May 1, 2026. One copy will be added to the Newberry collection, and two copies will be added to the pedagogical resources of the Center for Renaissance Studies and the scholar-cartoonist Dr. Kristen Haas Curtis
- Publications showcasing winners’ work will circulate in the summer of 2026
Shortlist
We are pleased to announce that the following artists (presented in alphabetical order) have been shortlisted for the Newberry Medieval Minicomic Prize! Congratulations to all for advancing this far.