UPDATE: WE’RE PUSHING BACK THE DEADLINE FOR THE BABIN AWARD TO ITS ORIGINAL DEADLINE OF AUGUST 28. THE AWARD WILL NOW BE PRESENTED IN SEPTEMBER IN A LOCATION TBA
Wow, where does the time go? It seems like we just gave this award to Baltimore’s KAL Kallaugher… oh wait, we did.
Due to the schedule change of this year’s AAEC Convention (moving the date up to the Spring so we can team-up with the Canadians), it has been decided to move up the deadline for the 2020 Rex Babin contest so the award can be presented at the joint confab in Ottawa, Ontario in May.
The new schedule kicks off TODAY, February 14. Here is the complete announcement:
CALL FOR ENTRIES: The 2020 Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning
DURHAM, NC — The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is once again looking for the best in local political cartooning. The Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning, named after the late Sacramento cartoonist, focuses on state and local editorial cartoons, an issue of great importance to Babin during his lifetime.
The deadline to enter is Friday, April 10, 2020.
This year’s award will be presented on Saturday, May 17, during the closing reception of the AAEC Convention in Ottawa, Ontario. (The 2020 contest was moved up six months to correspond with a special joint gathering of American and Canadian political cartoonists. See guidelines below for how the overlap might affect submissions.)
“As editorial cartooning everywhere is under fire from The New York Times on down, it is especially important that we honor not just cartoonists who do important national work, but also those who comment effectively and sharply on local and state issues,” said Jack Ohman, Babin’s long-time friend and successor to his staff position at The Sacramento Bee. “Rex Babin was one of the foremost practitioners of the local cartoon, and the AAEC once again honors Rex and his work with this Award.”
Babin, the editorial cartoonist for the Albany Times-Union and The Sacramento Bee, passed away in 2012 at age 49 following a long fight with cancer. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003, and received the Berryman Award from the National Press Foundation the same year. His unique drawing style stood out among the work of his peers, and his fellow cartoonists elected him President of the AAEC in 2009.
While his work was syndicated nationally, Babin was a strong believer in the power of editorial cartoons to have real influence at the local level. As the cartoonist for daily newspapers in two state capitals, he saw how effective satire could sometimes be when directed at targets across the street.
This year’s judges includes previous recipients JD Crowe and Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher. Ohman notes, “Past winners Crowe and Kallaugher were profoundly deserving of the only award AAEC gives to their colleagues for their work. Please enter, not just to honor Rex, but celebrate the enduring effectiveness of our profession.”
Deadline for entries is Friday, April 10, 2020.
THE DEADLINE IS NOW AUGUST 28, 2020
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CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning
• Any editorial cartoonist or graphic journalist who comments on or covers local, state or provincial events the U.S., Canada or Mexico is eligible to enter; membership in the AAEC or ACC is not required.
• Please submit ten cartoons and a 150 word statement from the artist about their work and its impact.
• Cartoons must have been published between March 2019 and March 2020. Cartoonists who submitted work for consideration for the 2019 Babin Award may enter the same cartoons from the six month overlap with last year’s award submission period.
• Cartoons should be in a 300dpi jpeg format, and emailed to rexbabinaward@gmail.com.
• There is no entry fee.
• The judging criteria are:
1) Cartoons on a local or state subject that have a strong political or social impact;
2) Excellence in draftsmanship and ideas.
DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: Friday, April 10, 2020.
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For more information on the award, contact Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher at kal@kaltoons.com. For more information on the AAEC Convention, go to www.aaecconvention.com.
Above: Then California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rex Babin joke around in Sacramento in 2005. Photo by JP Trostle
