CALL FOR ENTRIES: The 2020 Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is moving the deadline (again) for the best in local political cartooning, the Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning.
The deadline to enter is Friday, August 28, 2020.
The 2020 award will be presented in September at a time and location to be determined later due to uncertainties surrounding the current coronacrisis yadda yadda yadda you know the drill. (UPDATE: It will most likely be part of this year’s virtual CXC Festival, Oct. 1-3, 2020.)
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.
Babin’s long-time friend Jack Ohman wrote, “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. Rex Babin was one of the foremost practitioners of the local cartoon, and the AAEC plans to continue to honor Rex and his work with this Award.”
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.”
THE DEADLINE IS 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 ideally should have been published between September 2019 and August 2020. Please note: if you submitted already, there is no need to enter again — although you are welcome to add to your portfolio later this year with additional cartoons. Submissions will not be penalized due to the multiple shifts in deadline and overlapping calendar dates.
• 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, August 28, 2020.
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For more information on the award, contact Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher at kal@kaltoons.com.
Above: Then California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rex Babin joke around in Sacramento in 2005. Photo by JP Trostle