The 2019 Locher Memorial Award winner is Chelsea Saunders!
Chelsea Saunders is an emerging freelance illustrator residing in New York, whose work focuses primarily on editorial illustration and animation. Her work has been featured on The Nib, Topic.com, and in Current Affairs Magazine.
You can find more of Chelsea’s work at her website, and follow her on instagram.
Lowlights for Children - Published by The Nib.
The judges wrote:
“Saunders uses clever formats, strong artistry, and a confident style to tell well-paced stories of crimes suffered by America's minority communities.”
Outstanding Submissions:
The judges also picked a number of outstanding cartoonists, animators and artists who submitted to the award.
Sage Persing
You can read Searching for Brandon Teena and more of Sage’s work on their website.
Smita Minda
You can see more of Smita Minda’s work here.
Maria Sweeney
You can read more of “The Straw Ban” and buy a copy of the zine here. You can read more of Maria Sweeney’s work here.
Sage Coffey
You can read Sage’s comic “I need medication for my mental health. Finding the right prescription was harder than I’d ever imagined,” over at The Lily, and see more of Sage’s work here.
You can read the full comic at The Lily.
About the Award
The AAEC/John Locher Memorial Award was founded in 1986 by members of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC). They felt the need to establish an award that would not only honor the memory of John Locher but also would help discover young cartoonists and stimulate interest in editorial cartooning among college students in North America. In 2016, the scope of the award was expanded to include a wider range of editorial cartoons, comics, animation and illustration by creators ages 18-25.
Meet the 2019 Locher Award Judges:
Caitlin McGurk
Caitlin McGurk is the Associate Curator for Engagement & Outreach and Assistant Professor at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH
Pat Bagley
Patrick Bagley is an American editorial cartoonist and journalist for The Salt Lake Tribune in Salt Lake City, Utah, and an author and illustrator of several books.
Liza Donnelly
Liza Donnelly is a cartoonist and writer with The New Yorker Magazine, and resident cartoonist at CBS News. She also writes for the New York Times, CNN, and Medium, and is the author of 17 books.