Beth Hetland's 'Tender' wins 2025 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — “Tender,” written by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, has won the 2025 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. Penn State University Libraries sponsors this juried award and its administrator, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book. 

In “Tender,” the judges said, “Hetland explores societal expectations of women via visceral body horror, transforming the seemingly mundane story of desire for family and acceptance into a provocative social commentary on social norms, perfectionism, and self-harm. The simple art style and occasional grotesque details engage the reader and make them squirm ... The elements of body horror echo the themes of how the images of a perfect life in one's dreams or social media feeds are often a facade, hiding deeper horrors within us.” 

Hetland will receive a $2,500 prize and “Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts,” a two-volume boxed set published by Library of America, at a forthcoming event. Details of the event will be announced closer to the start of the fall semester. 

“The Jellyfish” by Boum, published by Pow Pow Press; and Dave Lapp’s “The Field,” published by Conundrum Press, were named 2025 Lynd Ward Prize honor books. The winning honor book authors will also receive “Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts.” 

“Dave Lapp's 'The Field' is deceptively simple,” noted the judges. “Drawn with minimalistic black and white cartoon images, it's about neighborhood kids doing their best to entertain themselves throughout a long summer, yet darkness and cruelty are constantly at the edges of their lives. The pacing is slow and methodical but never dull, allowing for subtlety and nuance in the story. The simplicity of the art evokes the worldview of a child while being well-crafted and precise. By interspersing high-stakes moments with the utterly mundane, Lapp doesn't merely present a sentimental story of a distant past; instead, he recreates childhood in a way that the reader becomes fully immersed and experiences what it's like to be a kid again.” 

The judges shared, “Boum's 'The Jellyfish' takes a powerful approach to depicting progressive vision loss. It is not solely a story about disability; the primary narrative is intertwined with issues of familial dynamics and romantic relationships. This graphic novel truly capitalizes on the affordances of the graphic genre, with the main character's progressive blindness taking the materialized form of a jellyfish floating inside her eye. As the narrative progresses, the jellyfish multiply and obscure more of the book itself, encroaching on vision both for the protagonist and the reader. The result is a deeply immersive experience. Creative choices and art style make a specific and possibly unfamiliar experience feel personal to the reader. Boum creates an impressive visual work infused within a quiet, easy read and a focus that makes the story relatable.” 

The Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize is presented annually to the best graphic novel, fiction or nonfiction, published in the previous calendar year by a living U.S. or Canadian citizen or resident. It honors Ward's influence in the development of the graphic novel and celebrates the gift of an extensive collection of Ward’s wood engravings, original book illustrations and other graphic art donated to Penn State’s University Libraries by his daughters Robin Ward Savage and the late Nanda Weedon Ward. Between 1929 and 1937, Ward published six groundbreaking wordless novels: "Gods' Man," "Madman’s Drum," "Wild Pilgrimage," "Prelude to a Million Years," "Song without Words" and "Vertigo." 

The Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize selection jury includes representatives who have significant graphic novel expertise: 

Jury Co-Chair Justus Humphrey has been a passionate comics reader for decades. As an assistant teaching professor of English composition at Penn State Harrisburg, he regularly teaches classes focused on comics and graphic novels. In addition to an master of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, he has completed a certificate in comics from Sequential Artists Workshop. 

Jury Co-Chair Marc Miller grew up purchasing comic books on Sundays after noon, some of which he still has stored in a cardboard box in a cool corner. He is an associate professor in the department of landscape architecture at Penn State and always looks for ways to sneak graphic novels and other "pop media” into design communication about landscapes and other constructed environments. 

Megan Brennan is an undergraduate student earning concurrent English and film production degrees from Penn State. Her academic endeavors have fostered a passion for visual and literary art, including a particular interest in media adaptation. 

Kate Hoffman, a high school English teacher at the Delta High School in State College, tries to integrate graphic novels into all of her classes and occasionally teaches an entire class focused on graphic novels. She has been teaching since 1998, and has taught at the middle level, high school level, and college level (at both University of Vermont and Penn State).   

A lifelong comics fan, Seth Christian Martel published his debut graphic novel, "The Mare," with Graphic Mundi in 2023, as well as contributing to their anthology, COVID Chronicles. 

The Penn State University Libraries, the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, the College of Arts and Architecture, the College of the Liberal Arts, the English Department in the College of the Liberal Arts, and the Graphic Design Department in the College of Arts and Architecture, are co-sponsors of this award. 

The Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, promotes libraries and literacy, and encourages Pennsylvania's citizens and residents to read, study, and celebrate books. In addition to the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, it also administers the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award; A Baker’s Dozen: The 13 Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy; PA Great Reads; and the interactive Literary & Cultural Heritage Maps of Pennsylvania. 

For more information about the selection criteria and how to submit books to be considered for the 2026 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, contact Ellysa Cahoy at ellysa@psu.edu.