September 11-14, 2025The AAEC will be joining the line-up at this year’s Small Press Expo as part of our annual convention in September 2025. Check back here later this year for registration and hotel information!
The mission of the AAEC is to champion and defend editorial cartooning and free speech as essential to liberty in the United States and throughout the world.
For over 65 years, the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has been a network of professional cartoonists concerned with promoting the interests of staff, freelance and student editorial cartoonists in North America, including political illustrators and the growing field of comics journalists.
We seek to provide a common meeting ground for cartoonists of all political persuasions to exchange views, meet socially, and showcase creative and technological innovation, on all platforms, from print to digital.
We aim to be an international leader in support of the human, civil, and artistic rights of political cartoonists around the world, and to stand with other international groups in support of the profession.
President: Marc Murphy, Louisville Courier Journal 
Vice President: John Auchter, Michigan Public Radio
Secretary-Treasurer: Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons
Director: Clay Jones, Claytoonz (2nd year)
Director: Paul Tarr, Rattoons, Crooksandliars.com (2nd year)
Director: Steve Stegelin, Charleston City Paper (1st year)
Director: Alexandra Bowman, Cagle Cartoons (1st year)
Past President: Jack Ohman, The San Francisco Chronicle
International Advisor: Patrick Chappatte, freelance
Minister of Information: Kevin Necessary
General Manager: Kelsey Maher
Contact us: editorialcartoonists@gmail.com or AAEC, PO Box 160314, Sacramento, CA 95816
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has five categories of membership for those looking to join. Membership in the AAEC is determined by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, which is composed of Regular member cartoonists elected annually to the position.
REGULAR — Regular membership is open to professional cartoonists who publish editorial or political cartoons that appear on a regular basis in any regularly updated, recognized forum (including newspapers,
magazines, and online news outlets), and are citizens or legal residents of the UnitedStates, Canada or Mexico. Regular dues: $150
RETIRED — To be eligible for Retired membership, an editorial cartoonist must be a legal resident or citizen of the United States, Canada or Mexico, and must be retired from publishing editorial cartoons that appeared on a regular basis in any regularly updated, recognized forum. Retired dues: $60
Both Regular and Retired members are eligible to vote in membership meetings and in elections, and run for office.
STUDENT — Any student enrolled at a college or university in the United States,
Canada or Mexico who produces editorial cartoons on a regular basis for a regular college newspaper may be eligible for Student membership. Student dues: $50
ASSOCIATE — Any citizen or resident of the United States, Canada or Mexico who is not a cartoonist but has a professional interest in the field of editorial cartooning may be eligible for Associate Membership.
This would include publishers, editors, journalists, critics, attorneys, historians, etc. Associate dues: $150
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE — Any person or cartoonist of any citizenship or nationality outside of North America with a professional interest in editorial cartooning who does not meet the qualifications of Regular or Associate membership, may be eligible for International Associate membership. International Associate dues: $50
More than half a century before Aaron McGruder’s first introduced The Boondocks as a comic strip (and later television series) and decades before the biting...
The AAEC John Locher Memorial Fellowship is awarded each year to one early-career cartoonist whose work demonstrates clear opinions and strong artistry on political and social topics. Deadline to be considered is the end of March.
The Locher Fellow will receive a one-year Regular membership in the AAEC, be a guest of the CXC Festival — held every fall in Columbus, Ohio — and have the opportunity to meet with editorial cartoonists during the year of the Fellowship for portfolio reviews and career advice.
Every two weeks throughout the year, The Learning Forum and the AAEC offers CARTOONS FOR THE CLASSROOM, a free lesson resource for teachers discussing current events. Visit NIEonline.com for more lesson plans.
