The Lucca Comics Awards are back, celebrating excellence in comics and recognising, amongst the many facets of the Ninth Art, the works of authors who have particularly distinguished themselves within the Italian publishing scene over the past year. To this end, the Lucca Comics & Games Readers’ Committee has selected 33 finalists from among the more than 200 entries received from publishers, representing a variety of genres and styles of expression, and it is from these that the jury will be called upon to choose the winners, who will then be announced at the eagerly awaited awards ceremony to be held at the Teatro del Giglio Giacomo Puccini in Lucca on 29 October, during the festival.
There are six long-standing award categories for which the selected works are competing: the Yellow Kid Comic of the Year and Yellow Kid Author of the Year, the Gran Guinigi Award for Best Short Comic or Collection, the Gran Guinigi Award for Best Serialised Comic, the Gran Guinigi Award for Best Artwork, and the Gran Guinigi Award for Best Script. During the evening dedicated to the Lucca Comics Awards, the winners of other prestigious prizes will also be honoured; due to their uniqueness and distinctive nature, these are independent of the annual selection process: the Yellow Kid Master of Comics, the Gran Guinigi Best Debut and the Gran Guinigi for a publishing initiative – the Stefano Beani Prize. The winner of the Generazioni Prize will then be announced, reserved for the best comic book production for readers aged between 6 and 12 (with ALIR – the Association of Independent Children’s Bookshops – having participated in the selection process), and finally the Gran Guinigi Pro awards, dedicated to the various professionals working in the comics industry who make the creation of these books possible: Best Colour, Best Cover, Best Lettering, Best Publishing Packaging, Best Translation (organised in collaboration with CEATL – the European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations, AITI – the Italian Association of Translators and Interpreters, and Strade – Association of Literary Translators).
The Committee, comprising the festival’s cultural contributors, has selected (listed here in alphabetical order): Absolute Martian Manhunter 1 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodríguez (Panini Comics, translated by Lorenzo Corti); Animal Pound by Tom King, Peter Gross and Tamra Bonvillain (BAO Publishing, translated by Leonardo Favia); Assorted Crisis Events vol. 1 by Deniz Camp, Eric Zawadzki, Jordie Bellaire and Tom Muller (Panini Comics, translated by Lorenzo Corti); Barrier by Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martín and Muntsa Vicente (BAO Publishing, translated by Michele Foschini); Deflagrazione by Miguel Vila (Coconino Press); Domenica by Olivier Schrauwen (Coconino Press, translated by Olga Amagliani and Claudia Cozzi); Due ragazze nude by Luz (Coconino Press, translated by Emanuelle Caillat); Figli della foresta. Due vite africane rapite dal colonialismo italiano by Igiaba Scego and Chiara Abastanotti (BeccoGiallo); Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. Rivoluzione Permanente by Davide Toffolo and Giulio D’Antona (Feltrinelli Comics); Guerra Giusta by Danijel Žeželj (Eris Edizioni, translated by Valerio Stivè); I doni di Ananke by Sabrina Gabrielli (Tunué); I nostri mondi perduti by Marion Montaigne (BAO Publishing, translated by Michele Foschini); Il mio traditore by Pierre Alary (ReNoir Comics, translated by Isabella Donato); Il sogno della cicala by Raffaele Sorrentino and Dario Sostegni (Canicola); Jaadugar – A Witch in Mongolia by Tomato Soup (J-POP Manga, translated by Silvia Ricci); Kappa Notebook – Deep Water by Manuela Schiano (Hollowpress); La Fortezza Vol. 7 by Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, David B., Boulet and Bastien Quignon (BAO Publishing, translated by Francesco Savino); Medea by Rita Petruccioli (BAO Publishing); Mentre ero via by Rina Jost (Diabolo Edizioni, translated by Giulia Bertoldo); Ombre di famiglia: Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls (Tunué, translated by Martina Fermato); Paperone in Atlantide by Fabio Celoni (Panini Comics); Piena! by Alison Bechdel (Rizzoli Lizard, translated by Aurelia Di Meo); Pino by Takashi Murakami (J-POP Manga, translated by Marco Franca); Racconti Vagabondi by Daisuke Igarashi (Toshokan, translated by Roberto Pesci); Souzie-Q. Un ritratto di Rocky Marciano by Francesco Colafella, Carmine Di Giandomenico and Tanino Liberatore (Bonelli); Sto con il mio santo by Chihoi (Canicola, translated by Anastasia Genovese); Tales of Paranoia by Robert Crumb (COMICON Edizioni, translated by Andrea Toscani and Vania Vitali); Tapum by Leo Ortolani (Feltrinelli Comics); The Great 1-2 by Jimmy and Kwang Jin (ReNoir Comics / Gaijin, translated by Irene Lustrissimi); The Moon Is Following Us Vol. 2 (of 2) by Daniel Warren Johnson and Riley Rossmo (saldaPress, translated by Stefano Menchetti); Tokyo Tarareba Girls by Akiko Higashimura (BAO Publishing, translated by Teresa Gallicchio); Troppo libera. L'arte, l'amore, la lotta di Camille Claudel by Assia Petricelli and Sergio Riccardi (Tunué); Wamu e le pelose avventure di Stanislaw Voderak by Wamu (Oblomov).
It is now time for the members of the jury – comprising this year Lorenzo La Neve (author), Bianca Bagnarelli (author), Alessandro Tota (author), Leonardo Merlini (journalist) and Veruska Motta (Head of Cultural Programming for Comics – Lucca Comics & Games) to read these works. It will be up to them to select the winners who will take to the stage at the Teatro del Giglio Giacomo Puccini on the night of the awards ceremony.
