HARVEY AWARDS REVEAL 2020 NOMINEES
Prestigious Harvey Awards Returns for Annual Celebration Digitally Streaming During New York Comic Con’s Metaverse
NEW YORK, NY – August 31, 2020 – The Harvey Awards today revealed the nominations and opened the voting for the following categories: Book of the Year, Digital Book of the Year, Best Children or Young Adult Book, Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel, Best Manga, and Best International Book. The nominees for the 2020 Harvey Awards are:
Book of the Year
- Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden (First Second)
- Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
- Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (Drawn and Quarterly)
- The Hard Tomorrow by Eleanor Davis (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Invisible Kingdom Vol. 1 by G. Willow Wilson and Christian Ward (Dark Horse Books/Berger Books)
- Little Bird: The Fight for Elder’s Hope by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram (Image Comics)
- Making Comics by Lynda Barry (Drawn and Quarterly)
- Reincarnation Stories by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics)
- Rusty Brown by Chris Ware (Pantheon Graphic Library)
- Something is Killing the Children Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera (BOOM! Studios)
Digital Book of the Year
- Afterlift by Chip Zdarsky and Jason Loo (comiXology Originals)
- The Eyes by Javi De Castro https://www.javidecastro.com/theeyes
- Fried Rice by Erica Eng https://friedricecomic.com/
- Harley Quinn: Black White & Red edited by Chris Conroy, Maggie Howell, Andy Khouri, and Amedeo Turturro (DC Comics / DC Digital First)
- The Nib edited by Matt Bors https://www.thenib.com
Best Children or Young Adult Book
- Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha (HarperCollins / Balzer + Bray)
- Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang (First Second)
- Guts by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic Graphix)
- Stargazing by Jen Wang (First Second)
- Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (DC Comics)
Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel
- Blacksad: Under the Skin video game by Microïds, based on Blacksad (Dark Horse Comics)
- I Am Not Okay With This by Netlfix, based on I Am Not Okay With This (Fantagraphics)
- Joker by Warner Bros. Pictures, based on Batman (DC Comics)
- Legion: Season 3 by FX Productions and Marvel Television, based on X-Men (Marvel Comics0
- Locke & Key: Season 1 by Netflix, based on Locke & Key (IDW Publishing)
- The Old Guard by Netflix, based on The Old Guard (Image Comics)
- The Sandman audio drama by Audible, based on The Sandman (DC Comics/Vertigo)
- Stumptown: Season 1 by ABC, based on Stumptown (Oni Press)
- The Umbrella Academy: Season 2, by Netflix, based on The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse Comics)
- Watchmen by HBO, based on Watchmen (DC Comics)
Best Manga
- H.P. Lovecraft’s At Mountains of Madness by Gou Tanabe (Dark Horse Manga)
- The Man Without Talent by Yoshiharu Tsuge (New York Review Comics)
- The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio (Fantagraphics)
- The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono (VIZ Media)
- Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama (Kodansha Comics)
Best International Book
Note: This category has been reconfigured for 2020 from 2019’s “Best European Book” to be more inclusive of other works.
- Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim (Drawn and Quarterly)
- The House Paco Roca (Fantagraphics)
- Portrait of a Drunk by Olivier Schrauwen, Florent Ruppert and Jérôme Mulot (Fantagraphics)
- Stay by Lewis Trondheim and Hubert Chevillard (Magnetic Press)
- Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna (Drawn and Quarterly)
Nominees for this year’s awards were once again selected by a committee of diverse industry voices including creators, publishing professionals, retailers, educators, and librarians. This nominating committee was curated by this year’s Harvey Award’s coordinators: Eden Miller along with Camilla Di Persia and Chris D’Lando of ReedPop with the desire to represent all corners of the comics publishing industry. Creator and industry professionals who have been previously approved for a Professional or Artist Alley badge at any ReedPop comic convention between 2016 – 2020 are automatically eligible to cast their ballot.
Select professionals have been preapproved to vote on this year’s awards and have received their invites already. If you’d like to apply to participate in selecting this year’s Harvey Awards, please visit the Harvey Awards Apply to Vote page. Voting will conclude on September 21.
“With the Harvey Awards, ReedPop is thrilled to be a partner in helping honor the life and work of the great Harvey Kurtzman and spotlight the best of the best within the industry. We are grateful to be championing this diverse group of creators, especially during the pandemic which has impacted this industry so deeply,” says Lance Fensterman, Global President of ReedPop. “While this year’s awards may take a different shape, the goal remains the same to celebrate all of the wonderful nominees via New York Comic Con’s Metaverse, a digital gathering place for fans and professionals alike.”
The Harvey Awards honors books and creators working in sequential art across a variety of categories and represents one of the industry’s longest-running annual events. The awards are named after Harvey Kurtzman, the legendary creator who is best remembered for creating MAD.
The annual gala celebrating the Harvey Awards will be going digital this year and livestreamed during New York Comic Con’s Metaverse. More information about this year’s Harvey Awards ceremony event and an announcement regarding this year’s Harvey Awards Hall of Fame class will be released at a later date.
For more information about Harvey Kurtzman and the Harvey Awards, please visit harveyawards.com or the Harvey Awards social media pages (Facebook and Twitter). The Harvey Awards Steering Committee is co-chaired by Nellie Kurtzman, John Lind, and Chip Mosher. Chris D’Lando and Camilla Di Persia off ReedPop and Eden Miller are coordinating this year’s awards.
New York Comic Con is the ultimate pop culture destination event in the United States. NYCC brings the best of comics, television, film, exhibitors, celebrities, cosplay, anime, and more to create memorable, uniquely exciting experiences for fans. These experiences transcend beyond the walls of the Javits Center and continue to live beyond the weekend of NYCC through the online world of New York Comic Con’s Metaverse. For more information, please visit findthemetaverse.com.
About Harvey Kurtzman and the Harvey Awards:
Harvey Kurtzman (1924–1993), creator of MAD, was a cartoonist and pop culture icon. Among the most influential American satirists, he was known for his visionary abilities that encompassed author, artist, designer, and editor, and combined those skills in some capacity in almost every project he was involved in. The Harvey Awards, presented annually since 1988, are named in his honor and aim to recognize the achievements among creators and their books in the publishing industry.
About ReedPop:
ReedPop is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions — the world’s leading events organizer. Launched in 2006, the group has become the number one producer of pop culture events across the globe as well as a full-service digital content provider and media company. Delivering once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences curated specifically for localized audiences, ReedPop currently features events in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, including: New York Comic Con (NYCC); Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2); PAX West, East, South, and Unplugged; Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC); Star Wars Celebration; MCM Comic Con; Eurogamer Expo (EGX); Comic Con Paris; BookCon; Comic Con Seoul; Comic Con Africa; Minecraft Festival; ComplexCon; POPSUGAR Play/Ground; Salon du Chocolat NY; and more. In addition to organizing and managing events, ReedPop also runs and operates the Gamer Network and its portfolio of leading gaming websites including Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, and GamesIndustry.Biz. The staff at ReedPop are a fan-based, globally focused group of professionals that are uniquely qualified to build and serve the communities with whom they share a common passion. (www.ReedPop.com)