Alexander Taylor's coming-of-age queer thriller BONE BROTH named winner of the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award

Alexander Taylor‘s coming-of-age queer thriller Bone Broth was named the 2023 winner of the UK’s First Graphic Novel Award at a December 11 ceremony in London’s Piccadilly Waterstones bookstore. He receives a £500 money prize from literary administration firm The bks Agency and a publishing contract with SelfMadeHero for the completed e book, anticipated to hit cabinets round 2025.

The synopsis of the proposed e book:

“A coming-of-age queer thriller, following Ash, a young transmasculine queer person, starting his first job in a ramen shop. As he begins to learn the process of making bone broth ramen, he suddenly finds himself caught up in how to cover up the death of his boss after a staff party.”

Speaking about Bone Broth, decide and SelfMadeHero director Emma Hayley mentioned:

“Alex Taylor’s fun and colourful art style belies the intricate plot lines of this coming-of-age queer thriller. Crafted with vigour and spirit, we’re taken on a somewhat crazy yet wonderful journey that is tasty from beginning to end. While the story benefits from Alex’s real experience of working in a ramen shop, his imagination leads us on an engaging adventure. Fellow judges called Bone Broth: ‘intriguing’, ‘compelling’, ‘quirky’, ‘zany’, ‘dense-but-light-at-the-same-time’, ‘fun’, ‘great page layout, wonderful artwork’. And those are just some of the compliments that this brilliant entry received.”

Adding a private notice, Emma mentioned:

“It really brightened up my day the first time I read it. What appealed to me most was its mix of immediately engaging characters, hilarious but fresh-looking artwork; and it is a combination that’s truly original. It stood out as having the potential to push the boundaries of graphic novel storytelling. It was really a pleasure to read.”

Alexander Taylor and his 2023 First Graphic Novel Award profitable entry ‘Bone Broth’

Taylor mentioned throughout the night that “comics have always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember”. He grew up in France – the place comics (bande dessinée) are ubiquitous – and solely on shifting to the UK did he uncover manga (each of whose influences will be keenly detected in the pattern work). For his day-job he works as a chef in a Japanese restaurant and mentioned that the title dish of the e book, bone broth, is taken into account a “labour of love” that takes upwards of 5 hours to make. His earlier expertise with comics manufacturing has seldom been work longer than 5 pages.

The first recipient of the new format for the British award – beforehand referred to as the First Graphic Novel Competition – following a 3 yr hiatus, Taylor joins the ranks of esteemed winners and shortlisters who’ve efficiently been revealed to acclaim in the UK comics scene. Illustrious names embody Gareth Brookes (The Black Project; 2012), Jade Sarson (For The Love of God, Marie!; 2014), Jenny Robins (Biscuits; 2018), Veronika Muchitsch (Cyberman; 2022), Hannah Eaton (Naming Monsters; 2013), Zara Slattery (Coma; 2021), and Sabba Khan (The Roles We Play/What Is Home, Mum?; 2021/2022).

The returning competitors, beforehand run each two years from 2012 to 2019, noticed a glut of demand (over a 50% soar!). Entrants have been required to ship an extract of not more than thirty pages in addition to a synopsis of the work by September 2023. Judges needed to plough by over 170 entries to attract a longlist of 30 – which they initially did over a whole weekend – with subsequent conferences deciding the shortlisted seven and winner.

The judges for the award this yr included editors Ayoola Solarin and Corinne Pearlman, artist Mark Wallinger, SelfMadeHero Founder/Publishing Director Emma Hayley, the London Cartoon Museum’s Learning & Outreach Officer Steve Marchant, comics journalist and tutorial Alex Fitch, and graphic novelist – one of the competitors’s efficiently revealed shortlisted authors – Sabba Khan.

You can take a look at a preview of Bone Broth right here:

The full shortlist:

WINNER: Alexander Taylor (@azbtart), Bone Broth
“A coming-of-age queer thriller, following Ash, a young transmasculine queer person, starting his first job in a ramen shop. As he begins to learn the process of making bone broth ramen, he suddenly finds himself caught up in how to cover up the death of his boss after a staff party.”
Cathy Brett (@gingerdoodles), Mrs Thorwald
“What really happened to Mrs Thorwald, the ‘nagging New York housewife’, who apparently murdered and dismembered by her adulterous husband? Here’s the story the neighbours couldn’t see, a 3D illustration picture book inspired by Hitchcock’s Rear Window’”
Gareth Cowlin (@garethcowlin), The Hiraeth Cub
“Gerald Preston works at Wattersons Booksellers, and lives with a hole in his chest, a physical manifestation of ‘hiraeth’, a Welsh word for irretrievable loss. Sister Jenny died some 20 years ago, and Gerald recruits customers and colleagues to explore that hole in his life.”
Mereida Fajardo (@m.ereida), Zayani Zam
“A silent graphic novel about loneliness and connection on the Mongolian coal road. It follows a day in the life of a female truck driver who spends every day driving coal from the mines at Tavan Tolgoi to the Chinese border, yearning for the freedom of a nomadic life that no longer exists.”
Anna Trench (@anna_trench), Florrie
“A queer, historical graphic novel about love and women’s football. When Florrie’s great-great-niece discovers her aunt was a footballer in the early 20th century, she unearths a secret history both on and off the pitch. In 1921, the FA banned women’s matches.”
Myfanwy Tristram (@mockduck), The Noisy Valley
“True stories of protest from the Rhondda Valley in South Wales. A response to current-day politics and the erosion of our rights to protest, the author interviews local people and shares their stories – and bears witness to a rich culture of those who don’t take things lying down.”
Corban Wilkin (@corbanwilkin_illustration), The Infinite Benefits of Shame
“Most people living with gender incongruence don’t transition. Not medically, and not socially. Many never talk to anyone about how they feel, and repress it forever.’ A contemporary graphic novel about the relationship between a young man and his gender-non-conforming lover.”