Young Comics Laureate Final Voting is OPEN!
Meet our Finalists!
Our Youth Development Board had the extremely difficult job of shortlisting the amazing nominees who applied for the Young Comics Laureate role. After lots of deliberation, they chose 6 incredible finalists to move forward into the final round. Now, it’s YOUR turn to decide who will be the Young Comics Laureate for 2025-26! The final vote is in your hands, so without further ado, meet our finalists and submit your vote!
Please note: We are only accepting one vote per person, please do not ‘stack’ votes. We are not looking to base the winner on established community reach but on their vision for the role!
Voting closes on Wednesday 10th September at 12pm!
PJ Fairweather
Why would you like to be Young Comics Laureate?
When I was young I struggled to read. I found my literacy through comics. I think of comics as a transcendent medium, a truly collaborative one. A creator is always relying on a reader to close gaps and build the story with them. It's a medium with a deceptively high buy in. It gives comics a lot of influence, be that teaching a young PJ how to read or utilising a reader's common empathy to advocate for those unrepresented. I wish to champion those who make comics and use those comics to champion those who need an outlet.
What are your interests and experience that shape your work?
When I was wee a made comics for my friend. The first time I went to their house they showed me every issue I had made carefully preserved. They cared about those comics, how could I not be obsessed? My experiences being queer and disabled has made up much of my published works and shaped how I interact with the medium greatly. I love folklore, small scale human stories and the Scottish indie scene. My adoration for comics reaches all genres though I am most influenced by indie creators from across the world.
What would you like to do with your time as Young Comics Laureate?
I hope that being the young comics laureate would empower me to empower others. Be that though continuing my work at my micro publisher Don’t fold press. Creating a grant with the funds for a young comic artist while offering them guidance. Or, attempting to connect the UKs comics creators. Tying the metropolitan scene to smaller towns and even, if possible the isolated Scottish isles. I would aim to be an advocate and give voice to my fellow trans and disabled communities and I would hope to bring a spotlight to the plight of other groups in need.
Marian Sloane
Why would you like to be Young Comics Laureate?
I’m a full time illustrator and comic artist- working both in-house at an educational publisher and freelance which I think offers me a broad scope across the publishing industry. As a queer neurodivergent person I’m extremely passionate about diversity within publishing and I’d love the opportunity to make a more active difference to the UK comics community
What are your interests and experience that shape your work?
I’ve been working freelance in comics since 2019 having gotten my start in anthology work before signing with my agent. I’ve since gone on to work with Capstone Publishing on comics for their mythographic series (The curse of Medusa & The Battle of The titans). At my in-house job, I illustrate and design educational resources with a specialism in creating for people with learning disabilities.
My personal work revolves around queerness, unconventional family structures and healing from past traumas. In my free time I run a queer book club and I’m an avid theatre goer.
What would you like to do with your time as Young Comics Laureate?
I’d like to work with libraries across the UK to host free workshops on various topics such as entry to publishing, zine creation and comics history, as well as host online events over zoom to make this information as accessible as possible. I’d also like to create a hub that can be used for future young comics laureates too so information can keep being added and updated with time.
I'd also be interested in working with organisations on the creation of youth comics anthologies as I believe they are invaluable for those first starting out.
Caitlyn Bannatyne
Why would you like to be Young Comics Laureate?
I owe a lot of my success academically and career-wise to organisations that value young people and strive to give young people opportunities to build skills, confidence and positive life experiences; and I have a real passion for working and supporting young people. I want to be able to be the adult that I needed as a young person and share the knowledge I’ve learned through my own journey so that other young people can succeed in life. I also strongly believe that everyone can create art and I love working with young people to encourage them to express themselves!
What are your interests and experience that shape your work?
When I’m not walking along the beach collecting stones and sea glass, you can probably find me at the cinema or at home watching horror movies. I’m inspired by gothic horror, fairytales, ghost stories and history. I love using sketchbooks and I started relief printing as a way to get away from the computer during the Covid pandemic when I was studying online. I believe that history is important to learn and is linked to activism. My comic “Noone O’ Thaim Witches”, looks at the victims of the Scottish witch trials and how comics can be used to teach history.
What would you like to do with your time as Young Comics Laureate?
Young people are facing a lot of issues these days and I want to help them have their voices heard, build confidence and use comics as a hobby that benefits mental wellbeing or a future career. I really enjoy creating a safe and accepting environment for young people where they can be themselves and come to me if they need help. This would mean workshops, talks and community events - both in person and online - and passing on my own knowledge through mentoring. I would also advocate for young comics creators, including on issues like mental health, identity and social justice.
PJ Dracovich
Why would you like to be Young Comics Laureate?
I believe in the power of comics to transform the lives of both readers and creators. I want to support and empower this and future generations of comic artists to tell their own stories and reclaim their narratives, especially those from racialised, queer, colonised, and disabled communities. Comics can help us imagine futures where we own our time, creativity, and means of making change, whether through mutual aid, shifting minds and hearts, or simply offering joy in difficult times. Comics have changed my life providing accessible work as a queer, disabled immigrant, and showing me my story matters.
This opportunity would give me the platform and time to grow the community work I already do—creating free resources for artists, offering 1-1 support, and sharing advice on creative careers. There’s only so much I can do alone, but with my passion, community focus, and 8 years in the non-profit sector, I know I could make a meaningful impact.
What are your interests and experience that shape your work?
I have been creating my own comics for 3 years, both educational comics based on my own lived experience as a disabled queer immigrant and important issues, as well as queer-centred horror. Alongside my art, I am passionate about doing meaningful work for my local and international community (e.g., creating free resources, helping others with applications, donating profits and art to mutual aid fundraisers, creating opportunities for other artists, sponsoring small grants like the Sofftpunk’s Queer Creative Grant etc.). Before pursuing my art, I built a 8 year career in student liberation and disability non-profits giving me vital experience in campaigning (e.g., successfully campaigning for a university to use the Sunflower Lanyard Scheme for Hidden Disabilities), running programmes of events and workshops (e.g, running the 1st Disability History Month at a university), and representing groups at national conferences. These skills I believe would really let me hit the ground running in this role and make the most of my time.
What would you like to do with your time as Young Comics Laureate?
My priorities are three-fold: (1) Amplify young comic creators’ voices, narratives, and needs within national discourse and the creative industry; (2) Launch campaigns that push for long-term change in the UK comics industry promoting sustainability, better work-life balance, and liberation; and (3) Provide accessible, practical support to help creators build sustainable careers and artistic practices.
While I submitted a detailed quarter-by-quarter plan, here are some key ideas:
● Form a steering group of diverse young comic creators to guide the YCL.
● Develop a mentorship programme pairing emerging artists with established creators in similar genres.
● Create free resources on practical topics like mental health, client work, self-employment, and sustainability.
● Host interviews with established creators to demystify career paths.
● Run hybrid workshops to build both creative and collaboration skills.
● Launch open calls and campaigns using comics to address critical issues like mental health, environmentalism, and global justice.
Mollie Ray
Why would you like to be Young Comics Laureate?
I am a comic artist from Lancashire. My debut graphic novel giant was published in 2024 with Faber, a silent comic inspired by the journey my family faced when my brother was diagnosed with cancer. Creating giant was incredibly healing for me, and since, I have been on a mission to spread the healing nature of making comics and championing this powerful artform. In my school years, two very important people helped me get to where I am today: Gemma Sosnowsky, the school librarian and Julie Tait of LICAF. I want to be to others what they were to me.
What are your interests and experience that shape your work?
Creating work about my own experiences has had huge benefits to my mental health. As well as being lucky enough to make my own comics, I have had the privilege to work nationally and globally with children, teenagers, SEN schools, refugees, young people experiencing poverty, care-experienced young people, in prisons, and most recently I had the privilege to go to Palestine and help 13 Palestinian creatives turn their stories into comics, which will be launched at LICAF this year. I have met so many brilliant people, sharing our stories and supporting each other, that’s what shapes my work.
What would you like to do with your time as Young Comics Laureate?
As Young Comics Laureate, I would make it my mission to introduce this evocative medium to as many young people as possible, plugging the gap that is missing in mainstream education and offer workshops nationally in creating comics. Not just to pursue a career in it, but as an incredible tool akin to art therapy for people to have when they need it. I would deliver honest, informative talks about my journey into comics, offer portfolio reviews, use my platform to promote the work of emerging talents and see out the visions of the young creatives I represent.
Imogen Mangle
Why would you like to be Young Comics Laureate?
Being marginalised has required that I develop a passion for communication, which has become a devotion to storytelling. Therefore, my life revolves around this expressive and accessible medium — comics!
I have 5 years of experience as an Associate Lecturer of Illustration. Inspiring students to express themselves through comics has been the most meaningful pursuit of my life so far. As myself and other arts educators have been made redundant, I have been forced to reckon with the desperate state of the arts, culturally and economically. Our calling is under threat, and my background has primed me to advocate for change.
What are your interests and experience that shape your work?
I draw inspiration for comics from external sources, like retro anime and manga, and the shapes and colours of daily life. Regarding projects, I’m working on an interactive comic which draws upon my fixation with constructed languages; I developed a vocal synthesiser, which makes my own lyrics seem unfamiliar— a useful thought exercise for character writing; I’m contributing art and music to small-scale video games; and lastly, I’m inspired by my new healthcare job… I’m imagining a story about a pharmacist who swallows every loose pill they find. My best projects are tonally impish, topically niche, and visually cute.
What would you like to do with your time as Young Comics Laureate?
It would mean the world to be able to continue educating. I would keep teaching my existing comics workshops, alongside new material, both in person and online to maximise accessibility. Also, over the years I have spent being active in local zine and comics communities, on social media, through my work with acclaimed editor Shelly Bond, and at physical and online fairs such as Thought Bubble and Shortbox Comics Fair, I have fostered numerous connections with amazing comic creators from around the world. It would be my dream to feature as many of these individuals as possible in these workshops.