Doug Wright Award

The Doug Wright Awards (founded December 2004) are literary awards handed out annually to Canadian cartoonists, honouring excellence in works published in English. The awards are named for Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright. Winners are selected by a jury of five Canadians who have made significant contributions to national culture, based on shortlisted selections provided by a nominating committee of five experts in the comics field. The Wrights are handed out in three categories, "Best Book", "Best Emerging Talent" and, since 2008, the "Pigskin Peters Award" for non-narrative or experimental works.

The Wright Awards are modeled after traditional book prizes, with the intention of drawing attention to the comics medium from a broad range of demographics inside and outside of its traditional fanbase. The Wrights have garnered acclaim and coverage from mainstream and literary media, as well as earning the support of a diverse range of participating artists and jurors including Don McKellar, Bruce McDonald, Jerry Ciccoritti, Bob Rae, Andrew Coyne, Chester Brown, Lorenz Peter, and Nora Young.

Awards
The Best Book and Best Emerging Talent awards are a large wood-and-glass trophy, engraved with images from Wright's comic strip. The award was designed by the cartoonist Seth, who admitted to some embarrassment at being the inaugural winner of the trophy he designed. . The Pigskin Peters Award, named in honour of a character from Jimmy Frise's Birdseye Center, is a custom, tailored derby hat with its own unique plaque that doubles as a hat post. It was also designed by Seth.

2005
Juried by Chester Brown, Rebecca Caldwell, Nora Young, Jerry Ciccoritti and Don McKellar.

Best Book
 * Worn Tuff Elbow #1 by Marc Bell (Fantagraphics Books)
 * Pamplemoussi by Geneviève Castrée (L'Oie de Cravan)
 * The Frank Ritza Papers by David Collier (Drawn & Quarterly)
 * DC: The New Frontier vol. 1 by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics)
 * Clyde Fans, Book One by Seth (D&Q)

Best Emerging Talent
 * Rabbithead by Rebecca Dart (Alternative Comics)
 * Revolver #1 by Max Douglas / Salgood Sam (self-published)
 * Canvas by Alex Fellows (Fantagraphics)
 * Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni Press)

2006
Juried by Justin Peroff, Alan Hunt and Ben Portis.

Best Book
 * Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle (D&Q)
 * Scott Pilgrim Versus the World by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
 * Dragonslippers: This Is What an Abusive Relationship Looks Like by Rosalind B. Penfold (Grove Press)
 * Paul Moves Out by Michel Rabagliati (D&Q)
 * Wimbledon Green by Seth (D&Q)

Best Emerging Talent
 * Northwest Passage Vol. 1 by Scott Chantler (Oni)
 * The Unexpurgated Tale of Lordie Jones by Marc Ngui (Conundrum Press)
 * Dark Adaptation by Lorenz Peter
 * Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
 * Nil: A Land Beyond Belief by James Turner (Slave Labor Graphics)

2007
Juried by Bruce McDonald, Mark Kingwell, Judy MacDonald, Lorenz Peter and Jessica Johnson.

Best Book
 * Shenzen: A Travelogue From China by Guy Delisle (D&Q)
 * This Will All End in Tears by Joe Ollman (Insomniac Press)
 * Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
 * Gilded Lilies by Jillian Tamaki (Conundrum Press)
 * Nog-a-dod edited by Marc Bell (Conundrum Press)

Best Emerging Talent
 * Gray Horses by Hope Larson (Oni)
 * House of Sugar by Rebecca Kraatz (Tulip Tree Press)
 * Was She Pretty? by Leanne Shapton (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
 * Bacter-area by Keith Jones (D&Q)
 * Mendacity by Tamara Berger & Sophie Cossette (Kiss Machine)

2008
Juried by Katrina Onstad, Ho Che Anderson, Marc Glassman, Mariko Tamaki and Helena Rickett.

Best Book
 * 365 Days: A Diary by Julie Doucet (D&Q)
 * Spent by Joe Matt (D&Q)
 * The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming (Riverhead Books)
 * Southern Cross by Laurence Hyde (D&Q)

Best Emerging Talent
 * Essex County Vol. 1: Tales from the Farm and Vol. 2: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf Productions)
 * Pope Hats by Ethan Rilly (self-published)
 * Kieffer #1 by Jason Kieffer (self-published)
 * The Experiment by Nick Maandag (self-published)

2008 introduced a new category dedicated to works that fall outside the bounds of traditional storytelling. Named after a character in the classic Canadian comic strip Birdseye Center, the The Pigskin Peters Award recognizes non-narrative (or nominally-narrative) comics.

Pigskin Peters Award
 * Milk Teeth by Julie Morstad (D&Q)
 * Little Lessons in Safety by Emily Holton (Conundrum Press)
 * Excelsior 1968 by John Martz (self-published)
 * Fire Away by Chris von Szombathy (D&Q)

2009
Juried by Bob Rae, Andrew Coyne, Martin Levin, Joe Ollmann and Diana Tamblyn.

Best Book
 * Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle (D&Q)
 * Drop-in by Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
 * Paul Goes Fishing by Michel Rabagliati (D&Q)
 * Skim by Jillian & Mariko Tamaki (Groundwood)

Best Emerging Talent
 * History Comics by Kate Beaton (self-published)
 * Maids in the Mist by Caitlin Black (self-published)
 * Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow by Jesse Jacobs (self-published)
 * Kieffer #2 by Jason Kieffer (self-published)
 * Jack & Mandy by Nick Maandag (self-published)

Pigskin Peters Award
 * Hall of Best Knowledge by Ray Fenwick (Fantagraphics)
 * Ojingogo by Matthew Forsythe (D&Q)
 * All We Ever Do is Talk About Wood by Tom Horacek (D&Q)
 * Small Victories by Jesse Jacobs (self-published)

Winners of the 2009 Doug Wright Awards were announced on May 9, 2009 at the Art Gallery of Ontario during a ceremony hosted by actor and director Don McKellar.