Annual Convention

Annual Convention September 11-14, 2025

The 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!

SPX website



 

CARTOONIST PROFILE

Back To MEMBER DIRECTORY

Contact

Work Phone

630-355-8777

General

First Name

Mary

Last Name

Locher

Publication

Primary Publication Name

The Locher Award

Reprints

Physical address for reprint requests

None (Do not show a reprint address.)

Profile

Bio

If political cartooning had a power couple, it was Dick & Mary Locher. Dick Locher was the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune (as well as having a side gig drawing the Dick Tracy comic strip for several decades), and he and his wife Mary were a constant and entertaining presence at AAEC and NCS gatherings.

After the tragic death of their son John in 1986, the Locher’s friends created an award in his honor, and over the next 30-some years Mary and Dick became mentors to dozens of cartoonists who won the John Locher Memorial Award, several of whom went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. Mary Locher continues to sit on the advisory board of the Locher Award and support young artists in their endeavors.

OUR MISSION

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.

The AAEC aims to be an international leader in support of the human, civil, and artistic rights of editorial cartoonists around the world, and to stand with other international groups in support of the profession.


The Daily Cartoonist

CSotD: Crackdown Crackup
CSotD: Crackdown Crackup

Jen Sorensen starts us off with a plain statement: The Bill of Rights is no longer part of our government, or of our daily lives....


LOCHER FELLOWSHIP

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.


CARTOONS FOR THE CLASSROOM

Cartoons in Education

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.