We’re a little over a month away from this year’s Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), but we know at least one event that will happen at the convention… Annie Koyama, founder of Koyama Press, will be honored with the third annual Spurgeon Award.
“Annie Koyama is a beacon in the world of independent comics,” said Caitlin McGurk, CXC Awards Committee Chair, via a press release provided to Comic Book Club. “Through her unwavering efforts to uplift the voices of a diverse network of cartoonists, she quickly established herself as a fairy godmother-like figure in the community—and one with impeccable taste. Koyama serves as a model of excellence for how to make a lasting impact in the lives of creators, and we are thrilled to honor her with this award.”
Though Koyama Press is now closed, from 2007 through 2021 it was a home for independent voices in comics and cartoon art, based in Toronto. And since ceasing operations, Koyama has continued to support creators with a grant called Koyama Provides.
“I’m thrilled to have been chosen as the 2024 recipient of the Tom Spurgeon Award,” stated Annie Koyama. “I’m thankful to have found a way to stay connected to a community that I love, by directly supporting artists, especially cartoonists. Tom reached out to me in the early days of the press, when I had seemingly come out of nowhere and he continued to support the press and my plans beyond the press, for which I’ll always be grateful.”
Per the release, years earlier Koyama survived a terminal brain aneurysm diagnosis, left a career in film and advertising, and decided instead to pursue her passion to support emerging artists. Back in 2011, Koyama received the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Publisher. Other awards that have honored Koyama include the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, Broken Frontier’s Hall of Fame Award, and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Ontario College of Art & Design University.
The Spurgeon Awards are named after the late Tom Spurgeon, an iconic comic book journalist and historian, who was also CXC’s founding executive director. Previous recipients of the award include Calvin Reid of Publishers Weekly and manga scholar Frederik L. Schodt. The Spurgeon Award was also given posthumously to Mollie Slott, Orrin Evans, and Kim Thompson.
CXC 2024 will be held September 26 through 29, 2024.
