2025 Puffin Graphics Novel Competition: A Call for Under-Represented Creators
Puffin Graphics is excited to announce a brand-new Puffin Graphic Novel Competition for 2025. The winning project will receive a publishing contract with Puffin, aiming for potential publication in 2027.
The competition is open to any comics creator in the UK or Ireland who identifies as part of an underrepresented background or community. Puffin Graphics welcomes submissions for graphic novel story pitches and artwork aimed at children and young people aged five and older.
Entries can be submitted by authors, illustrators, or author-illustrators. This initiative is inclusive of all underrepresented creators, including those who have already found a path to publication or have representation from an agent.
To enter, creators will be invited to submit the following:
- A package of one page of finished artwork in either colour or black and white; three pages of rough artwork (which must include text/speech); and a detailed plot outline.
- Or a package of five pages of script; and a detailed plot outline.
Further details on how and when to submit material can be found via this website link: www.penguin.co.uk/GraphicNovelCompetition.
"In 2024, it was a huge highlight to launch Puffin Graphics and to bring the joy of the graphic novel reading experience to young readers, in this booming area of the market. As we celebrate our 85th birthday at Puffin in 2025, this inclusive competition showcases our continued commitment to find and publish new creators alongside our list of evergreen and beloved characters, books and authors. Creating a love of reading for pleasure is more important than ever and the power of a graphic novel to spark imaginations is undeniable. We are excited to see these submissions and meet their new creators."
Puffin's mission is to publish a book for every child. Within this, Puffin Graphics aims to create and publish immersive, escapist, inclusive, and, most importantly, fun stories that celebrate the joy of reading through art. This Puffin Graphics initiative aims to seek out and nurture graphic novel creators from underrepresented communities to ensure every child can see themselves reflected in this growing and exciting part of the market.
"With our recent research revealing that children and young people's enjoyment of reading is at an all-time low, initiatives like the Puffin Graphic Novel Competition are essential. To help more children discover a love of reading – which can boost their confidence, wellbeing and success at school – they must be given more opportunities to access and choose from a diverse range of reading materials which they can see themselves in and are relatable to their lives. Graphic novels can engage children with reading in a completely unique way and this competition will no doubt help to discover new, high-quality and inspiring stories from creators from all communities."
Puffin Graphics launched in April 2024, featuring a curated selection of top-notch graphic novels for children. This collection includes the wildly popular series Max Meow, alongside previously published titles such as Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson and White Bird by R.J. Palacio, as well as beloved adaptations of series like Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
In August 2025, Puffin Graphics will introduce its first UK-originated title, Unfairies, created by Welsh comics artist Huw Aaron.
