Welcome to the Excelsior Award
Evolution for 2019
The 2019 Excelsior Award sees the first major change in how we create our shortlists. The quality, accessibility and broad appeal that we constantly strive for will remain. However, the single shortlist of eight books is gone! What we now have are FOUR different shortlists of five books each, with a greater focus on specific age suitability and affordability. Click on the new logos below for more details!
What is the Excelsior Award?
The Excelsior Award is the only nationwide book award for graphic novels and manga - where kids aged 11-18 decide the winner by rating each book as they read it! Twenty graphic novels are selected for the four age-appropriate shortlists and it now attracts over two hundred schools and public libraries from all over the UK and Ireland! The overall goal of this scheme is to encourage reading amongst teenagers. However, its secondary target is to raise the profile of graphic novels and manga amongst school librarians and teachers. This storytelling medium has been a largely underused resource within education for many years. The Excelsior Award attempts to highlight some of the amazing books that are out there - books that fully deserve to be in our school libraries alongside regular fiction!
With Great Power There Must Also Come.... Great Supporters!
Many thanks to the following companies, organisations and institutions for their continuing support....
Sheffield Space Centre
Established in 1978, The Sheffield Space Centre is one of the oldest SF, fantasy and comic shops in the UK.
School Library Association
The School Library Association is committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries, promoting high quality reading and learning opportunities for all.
Cakes With Faces
Funny t-shirts, colourful clothes, accessories and gifts with cute designs inspired by Japanese kawaii. Original designs. UK shop. Fast delivery.
Biglin Graphics
Providing high quality art prints for sale at competitive prices.
Working in a range of popular culture categories from Film, Music and Cult TV.
We also offer reprints of vintage illustrations, adverts and posters.
Boom Studios
Boom! Studios is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Yen Press
American publisher of a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa and other international graphic novel content.
Cinebook
British publisher of European comic albums and graphic novels. It describes itself as "The 9th Art Publisher," the 9th art being comics in France, Belgium and Italy.
Classical Comics
British publisher of graphic novel adaptations of the great works of literature, including Shakespeare, Brontë and Dickens.
Nobrow
Nobrow makes great design, ground-breaking art and narrative, luscious production values and environmental consciousness central to its mission.
IDW Publishing
American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. Regularly recognised as the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the United States.
The Phoenix Comic
The Phoenix is a weekly comic with high quality content and no 3rd party adverts, suitable for girls and boys aged 6-12.
Valiant
American publisher of comic books and related media. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
Dynamite Entertainment
American publisher of comic books, graphic novels and other collectibles. Founded in 2005, Dynamite has published such titles as Vampirella, Red Sonja, Project Superpowers, Army of Darkness, Warlord of Mars and many more.
Browns Book for Students
Supplier of books and eBooks for schools and libraries.
Peters Books & Furniture
Supplier of books and furniture for nurseries, schools, academies, and public libraries.
Bloke of Steel
The Bloke of Steel is Paul Register, a former school librarian from Sheffield, now working as an Educational Speaker/Trainer specialising in comics, graphic novels and school libraries.