UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Lee Lai, 2022 winner of the Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year, will receive the award on Wednesday, Nov. 16, for her winning book, “Stone Fruit," published by Fantagraphics.
Lai’s talk will include a visual presentation and discussion of her debut graphic novel, described by a jury member as “one of those rare graphic novels where everything — story, text, images, style — comes together in full complement to create a memorable, moving experience for readers.”
The award ceremony and author talk takes place at 7-8 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library on Penn State’s University Park campus.
The Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year is sponsored by the Penn State University Libraries and administered by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. It 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.
The jury also awarded two honor books: “How to Pick a Fight” by Lara Kaminoff, published by Nobrow; and R. Kikuo Johnson’s “No One Else,” published by Fantagraphics.
The award’s selection jury includes representatives from various Penn State academic departments who use the graphic novel in their teaching or research, as well as representatives with graphic-novel expertise from among Penn State’s alumni and students.
Established in 2011, the Lynd Ward Prize honors Ward’s formative 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 the Penn State University Libraries by his daughters Robin Ward Savage and Nanda Weedon Ward. Recently, the University Libraries digitized the collection, titled Lynd Ward Wood Engravings and Other Graphic Art, circa 1920-1975, and made it available online.
Ward, creator of the first American wordless novel, “God’s Man,” produced it and five additional groundbreaking wordless novels between 1929 and 1937 — “Madman’s Drum,” “Wild Pilgrimage,” “Prelude to a Million Years,” “Songs without Words” and “Vertigo.” They have been re-issued by the Library of America in a two-volume boxed set titled “Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts,” the first time the nonprofit publisher has included a graphic novelist in its award-winning series.
Co-sponsors with the Pennsylvania Center for the Book for the Lynd Ward Prize include Penn State University Libraries; the Eberly Family Special Collections Library; Library Learning Services; the English Department in the College of the Liberal Arts; and the College of the Liberal Arts.
For more information about the selection criteria and how to submit books for consideration for the 2023 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, contact Karla M. Schmit at 814-863-5521 or kms454@psu.edu, or visit the Pennsylvania Center for the Book’s website
For more information about the Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year, including questions regarding physical access and special accommodations at the ceremony, contact Caroline Wermuth at 814-863-5472 or cvw1@psu.edu.