WaPo Launches Cartoonist Contest

The Washington Post hopes to set a promising artist on a path to become the next rising cartoonist and has launched America’s Next Great Cartoonist Contest.

Budding cartoonists looking for their big break can submit six original, unpublished single- or multi-panel cartoons by June 4. This is not a contest for editorial cartoonists, but otherwise, the possibilities are wide open.

Judges – including “Doonesbury” creator Garry Trudeau, “Pearls Before Swine” creator Stephan Pastis, “Cul de Sac” creator Richard Thompson and others – will help select 10 finalists and weigh in with comments before readers vote.

Five cartoonists will advance to the next round, in which The Post will ask the finalists to complete a second challenge: submit feedback on the comments they’ve received, a character sheet providing more details on their strips, and one color Sunday-style cartoon – all on deadline. Once the cartoonists have submitted their second round of materials, readers will vote again to elect the contest winner.

The winner, to be announced on or around July 15, will get an opportunity to create a comic strip to be published daily for one month in the print Style section and in the Comic Riffs blog of The Washington Post. The winner will also receive one-on-one consultation with a judge.

For more information, click here.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.