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. Registration is now open.

Registration page

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Rex Babin Award nominee #13 — Ed Hall

Jacksonville cartoonist Ed Hall is distributed nationally through Artizans Syndicate, but it is his local work in The Baker County Press and The Herald he feels is most effective — and have landed him a bevy of state journalism awards.

"I have found that the cartoons that garner the most attention are those that affect people in my own community and state. These images have a way of touching people on an emotional level and in ways that a national issue cartoon cannot. It’s these stories that hold the most weight with readers because they are stories that directly affect their lives. These are the stories that Rex enjoyed. My fondest memories of Rex are when we would discuss what was going on in my hometown. He wasn’t interested in the pontificating of the Washington punditry. He wanted to know what LOCAL story I was working on that week."

 

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[Throughout his life, Rex Babin championed those who focused on state and local issues in editorial cartoons, a field that he and other cartoonists felt was regularly overlooked by journalism contests. The "Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning" was launched in 2017 to celebrate those working in this niche. To that end, we will be showcasing each cartoonist who entered the contest this year, one or two each day in alphabetical order (more or less), leading up to the AAEC Convention in Sacramento, CA, and the announcement of the award winner on Saturday, Sept. 22.]

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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

Adam Zyglis is Sigma Delta Chi Award Winner for 2024
Adam Zyglis is Sigma Delta Chi Award Winner for 2024

The Society of Professional Journalists has announced the recipients of the 2024 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism. In the Editorial Cartooning category...


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.