This year will mark the final round of self-publishing
grants from The Xeric Foundation—the
prestigious nonprofit corporation established by Peter Laird, co-creator of the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. TMNT itself was begun as a self-published venture
in 1983. Since 1992, the foundation has granted financial assistance to many of
our favorite comic book creators for self-publication.
We’d discussed applying for a Xeric grant since we first
began work on How i Made the World.
When we heard there would be one final comic book review, we knew we had to
apply. Yet, we also knew the competition would be fierce. Entries from throughout the U.S. and Canada are judged on
“originality, literary and artistic merit, and a sense of commitment to the
work.”
During the weeks leading up to the February 29 submission
deadline, we hunkered down in our studio with lots of takeout and a marvelous,
limitless supply of tunes from Spotify.
With minutes to spare on Leap Day—17,
in fact—we post-marked our baby and shipped her off. The Post Office never did
confirm delivery. Yikes! But our application did arrive among a record number
of entries.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce we are the recipients of a
2012 Xeric Award. The grant is to be used for the printing, advertising, and
distribution of our comic book, the pilot issue of How i Made the World.
 |
| From our Xeric submission, The Monster. You can see more here. |
We've enjoyed the comic books of past Xeric recipients for years. They are among the most entertaining and innovative independent comic books being published, and they are often included in Houghton Mifflin's annual The Best American Comics. We're deeply honored to be among those recognized by the foundation.
Thank you, Xeric administration, staff, and review panel. We're also extremely grateful to our family and friends who have supported our
work. And thank you, Sianna, Dominique, Rebecca, Anita, Ryan, Deborah,
and Adam—our computer/Photoshop wizards.
We’ll be working on the final stages
of our comic and preparing it for press in the coming months. Stay tuned! This
is only the beginning.
Matt Johnson of Panels and Pixels says How i Made the World is "incredibly engaging."
