Winners of the 25th Bédélys Awards
Winners of the 25th Bédélys Awards Announced and Opening of the Montreal Comic Arts Festival
Montréal, May 23, 2024 – Several hundred people from the comic arts field were present at La Tulipe for the opening night of the Montreal Comic Arts Festival on Thursday. MCAF’s 13th edition, presented in collaboration with SDC Rue Saint-Denis, officially opens its tents on Saint-Denis Street, between Gilford and Roy, for its great celebration of comic arts from May 24 to 26, where more than 300 creators are expected!
The opening night, presented by journalist and host Marie-Louise Arsenault, rewarded the best comic books published in 2023 as part of the 25th Bédélys Awards.
Six prizes were awarded for a total of $5,000 in grants.
J’aime pas ta robe by Danielle Chaperon and Samuel Cantin (Monsieur Ed) won the Bédélys Youth Québec Award, presented by Télé-Québec.
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? by Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly) won the Bédélys Québec Award presented by Librairie Planète BD. This is the first time an English-language work wins this prize, which is awarded to a work published by a Quebec artist, by a Quebec publishing house.
Catherine de Gongre and Joshua Barkman won the independent Francophone and Anglophone Bédélys Awards respectively, for self-published books.
Each prize comes with a unique trophy created by artist Karl Dupéré-Richer.
The comic books are selected and evaluated by volunteer and joint juries composed of librarians, booksellers, authors, book professionals and avid readers.
“We’re celebrating another successful year for Quebec comic books. With the quality of the works produced, the juries definitely didn’t have it easy. In fact, the Bédélys Independents Awards received a total of 75 submissions, a record number,” says Mélanie La Roche, Executive Director of MCAF.
“We look forward to seeing you tomorrow on Saint-Denis for a multitude of free activities and exhibitions around comic arts. It’s the perfect opportunity to meet your favourite creators or discover new titles to read,” she adds.
Here are the winners in the six categories:
Bédélys International Award: Des maux à dire, Bea Lema (Sarbacane)
The Bédélys International Award rewards the best French-language comic book published outside Québec. This year, the prize is offered by Librairie Planète BD.
A word from the jury: “Des maux à dire weaves together the story of Véra and her family, and in particular the unhealthy relationship between her and her mother. A pillar of the family, Véra is the only one who knows how to deal with her mother. From one crisis to the next, she accompanies her mother through the maze of her own malaise.
The deceptively naive marker drawing, punctuated by magnificent embroidered pages, is a brilliant illustration of a story tinged with pain, but also with hope and love.”
Bédélys Youth Award: L’échappée belle, Faith Erin Hicks (Rue de Sèvres)
The Bédélys Youth Award rewards the Best French-language comic book intended for young people aged 7 to 14.
A word from the jury: “In this book, science fiction blends with reality to give us an engaging story.
The colourful, detailed illustrations catch the eye and capture the reader’s attention.
The emotions and situations experienced by the main character resonate with our own life experience.”
Bédélys Independent Francophone Award: Crépuscule, Catherine de Gongre
The Bédélys Independent Francophone Award rewards the best self-published francophone comic book created in Quebec. The winner will receive a $1,000 grant from the Montreal Comic Arts Festival, as well as a half-table at the 2025 edition of MCAF.
A word from the jury: “Catherine de Gongre carries on her meticulous, delicate work on form in Crépuscule, a work in which text becomes image, multiplying its meaning.
The lyrics of a song are incorporated into soberly pencilled illustrations of shadows, close-ups and hatching, taking us among the plants in the garden of a man whose memory is leaving him.
This sensitive assembly gives rise to a moving poetry, summoning up in little touches the memories and mourning of a life in decline.”
Meet Catherine de Gonge all weekend at her booth (E36)
Bédélys Independent Anglophone Award: Spores, Joshua Barkman
The Bédélys Independent Anglophone Award rewards the best self-published anglophone comic book created in Quebec. The winner will receive a $1,000 grant from the Montreal Comic Arts Festival, as well as a half-table at the 2025 edition of MCAF.
A word from the jury: “A mysterious meteor crashes into the Canadian forest, tearing a gaping hole in the canopy and attracting curious animals from all around. As gregarious chickadees, cynical woodpeckers, a contemplative moose, and more gather together, they find themselves strangely changed. Joshua Barkman’s charming drawings, expert pacing, and dry wit bring this touching tale of connections to life. Recommended for readers of Anders Nilsen’s Big Questions.”
Meet Joshua Barkman, aka False Knees, all weekend at his booth (A03)
Joshua joins Sarah Andersen for Comic Reading on Saturday, May 25 at 6 p.m.
Bédélys Youth Québec Award: J’aime pas ta robe, Danielle Chaperon, Samuel Cantin (Monsieur Ed)
The Bédélys Youth Québec Award rewards the best comic book for an audience aged 14 and under by a Québec artist published in Québec.
This year, for the first time, the Bédélys Youth Québec Award and its $1,000 grant will be presented by Télé-Québec. A video featuring the winner will be produced by La Fabrique Culturelle, Télé-Québec’s digital platform dedicated entirely to Québec culture.
Copibec is pleased to support comic books published in Québec and will be offering an additional grant of $500.
A word from the jury: “The story is both funny and clever, featuring the excessiveness of children, but bringing it back to reality through the quietude of a cat and the simplicity of a rock. It’s an interesting battle to follow.
The jury particularly appreciated the humour, the characters’ expressions, the general sense of mischief and the well-crafted illustrations with an eye-catching tone.
All in all, a great comic book, perfectly suited to the young (and not so young).”
Meet Sam Cantin for a signing session at the Pow Pow booth (A10) on Friday, May 24 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Saturday, May 25 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and 6:30 to 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 26 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Sam will also be signing at the Gallimard bookshop kiosk (D31) on Friday, May 24th from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, May 25th from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, May 26th from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Bédélys Québec Award: Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?, Chris Oliveros (Drawn & Quarterly)
The Bédélys Québec Award rewards the best comic book created and published in Quebec.
The prize and its $1,000 grant are awarded by Librairie Planète BD.
Copibec is pleased to support comic books published in Québec and will be offering an additional grant of $500.
A word from the jury: “Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? tells the story of the FLQ’s beginnings, focusing on the years leading up to the much-discussed October Crisis of 1970. Taking the form of a supposed CBC documentary, this comic book manages to render, with a certain humour, the more or less conclusive first acts of these fledgling revolutionaries, while also highlighting the tragedies that ensued from their actions.
This remarkable work by Chris Oliveros, the fruit of in-depth research, is also available in French in an excellent translation by Alexandre Fontaine-Rousseau (Pow Pow).”
Chris Oliveros will join Cas and Michel Viau on the Je me souviens panel discussion on Saturday, May 25 at 4 p.m.
Meet Chris for a signing session at the Pow Pow booth (A10) on Friday, May 24 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, May 26 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, May 27 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Chris will also be signing at the Drawn & Quarterly booth (A09) on Friday, May 24 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, May 25 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, May 26 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
We look forward to seeing you at the Montreal Comic Arts Festival from May 24 to 26 on Saint-Denis Street.
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About MCAF
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival (MCAF) is Montreal’s sole bilingual event dedicated to promoting comics and the artists who create them. This not-to-be-missed comic art event drew over 82 000 people in 2023.
The 13th edition of MCAF will take place from May 24 to 26, 2024 on a pedestrianized Saint-Denis Street between Gilford and Roy. More than 300 comic artists from here and abroad are expected, and a diverse program of over 60 free activities will be offered.
Year-round, MCAF organizes activities that contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge about the 9th art, for both professionals and comic arts enthusiasts. For more information, visit fbdm-mcaf.ca.
Partners
The Montreal Comic Arts Festival is presented in collaboration with the SDC Rue Saint-Denis and would like to thank its major partners for their support: Télé-Québec, La Presse, Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, SODEC, Ministère du Tourisme, Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Service de la culture de la Ville de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal and Arrondissement Plateau–Mont-Royal.
MCAF also thanks its many programming partners: le consulat général de France à Québec, Italian Institute of Culture in Montreal, Consulate of Switzerland in Quebec, Pro Helvetia, Wallonie-Bruxelles International, Bibliothèques Montréal, École en Réseau, CSSDM, CSSMB, CSSDP, le Salon du livre de Montréal, Liseur Public, Partenariat du Quartier des Spectacles, and Montréal CoWork.
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MCAF Contact:
Mélanie La Roche, Executive Director, melanie.laroche@fbdm-mcaf.ca
Press relations Rugicomm :
Bénédicte Jutras, 514 651-1523, benedicte.jutras@rugicomm.ca
