Another welcome initiative for bringing comics to wider attention. Full details on Comics Youth’s launch of the Young Comics Laureate position below.
Comics Youth Launches the UK’s First Young Comics Laureate to Champion Emerging Talent Aged 18–30
Comics Youth CIC and its charitable arm, Comics Youth SCIO, are thrilled to announce the launch of the UK’s first Youth Comics Laureate, a ground-breaking, youth-led role designed to empower, pay, and amplify comics creators aged 18–30. The inaugural Laureate will be unveiled at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) in 2025.
Building on the existing UK Comics Laureate position currently held by Bobby Joseph, the Youth Comics Laureate will be a paid, 12-month role dedicated to supporting an early-career creator from a traditionally underrepresented background.
Comics Youth is now accepting nominations for the Young Comics Laureate role.
🔗 Submit a nomination here: https://bit.ly/youngcomicslaureate2025
🕒 Deadline for nominations:
Submissions must be received by the 5pm on the 13th of August and after which the youth-led shortlisting process will begin.
📖 More info: comicsyouth.co.uk – Young Comics Laureate Announcement
Why a Youth Comics Laureate Is Needed
Across the UK and internationally, Youth Poet Laureate programmes have transformed cultural engagement by spotlighting young voices, elevating lived experiences, and ensuring younger generations help shape public conversations. These models prove that giving young people paid, respected cultural roles isn’t just recognition, it’s a powerful investment in the future.
Comics deserve the same commitment.
Comics are one of the most accessible, democratic art forms, combining words and images to cross barriers of literacy, language, and culture. They let young people tell nuanced, personal stories about identity, mental health, social justice, and community in ways that resonate widely.
Yet despite this power, there’s currently no national platform or paid role dedicated to championing emerging comics creators in the UK. Many face barriers to industry access, mentorship, and fair pay, while their stories too often go unheard.
A Young Comics Laureate will:
• Provide the same kind of recognition and platform that Youth Poet Laureates enjoy.
• Celebrate comics as a vital, culturally relevant, and educational medium.
• Ensure fair pay, training, and professional development so no young creator is excluded because of background or finances.
• Create a clear, supported pathway for diverse new voices to influence the future of the industry and national conversations.
Why Comics? Why Now?
Comics have always been a radical medium for truth-telling and social change. They let creators tackle big themes in accessible, compelling ways. For young people, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, comics offer a way to process experience, share perspective, and imagine new futures.
But the industry needs to evolve.
Young creators have urgent, authentic stories to tell. Supporting them fairly and visibly isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s essential to ensuring the medium remains dynamic, inclusive, and relevant.
Rhiannon Griffiths MBE, Founder of Comics Youth, says:
“At Comics Youth, we believe in the power of young people to change the world through storytelling. The Youth Comics Laureate isn’t just about recognising talent—it’s about creating real opportunities, challenging inequity, and ensuring that the voices of young people, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, are heard, valued, and celebrated in the comics industry.”
Julie Tait, LICAF Festival Director, says:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to support the Young Comics Laureate initiative. Comics reach all ages, and all communities, but the young will carry the medium forward. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the positive impact made in terms of promoting comics by various Comics Laureates, a project we launched in 2015, and Bobby Jospeh has been continuing the fantastic work. We’re sure the new Young Comics Laureate will complement this, and we look forward to seeing how it develops.”
Role Responsibilities and Impact
The Young Comics Laureate will serve a 12-month tenure as a national advocate for young people in comics, working to:
• Spotlight issues that matter most to their generation.
• Lead workshops, talks, and community events to inspire creative self-expression.
• Provide mentorship and representation for other young and emerging creators.
• Collaborate with industry partners to ensure youth perspectives shape national conversations about comics and literacy.
Authentically Youth-Led, Community-Powered Selection
This initiative is co-produced with our Youth Development Board to ensure it is designed by and for young people. Shortlisted candidates will be chosen through Comics Youth’s youth-led process, with the final Laureate selected by a public vote of the wider comics community.
LICAF will act as the national launch platform, showcasing the Laureate’s work and providing valuable exposure, while the appointment itself remains fully youth-led and community-chosen.
Funded by the Charlie Adlard Foundation
This pioneering initiative is made possible through generous support from the Charlie Adlard Foundation. As a leading advocate for the comics arts, the Foundation’s investment reflects a shared commitment to empowering the next generation of comics creators and ensuring the medium continues to thrive through diverse, authentic voices.
