05 Oct 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Inkwell Awards Overhauls Nomination Procedure

(New Bedford, MA/USA—Oct. 5, 2018) After 10 years, the Inkwell Awards, a non-profit organization devoted to public education and promotion of the art of comic-book inking, has changed its nomination procedure for its annual awards. For the first time, ink artists (“inkers”) are now invited to submit their work for consideration.

Previously, all award nominees in the Inkwells’ five categories were chosen exclusively by a volunteer Nomination Committee (“NomCom”), composed of various industry professionals, journalists, reviewers and supporters. This year, inkers (or their agents/publishers) may submit two to three pages of interior art from American comic books cover-dated 2018 for each category. Those will be evaluated by the NomCom, who will choose a minimum of two names and may also submit up to four of their own, per category. The Inkwells’ core committee will tally all results and choose the top names in each category for the final public ballot. Nominees for The Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award will continue to be chosen internally. The Inkwells’ core committee will remain ineligible to nominate, vote, submit work or be nominated for any inking award.

“We’ve had a lot of feedback over our previous decade,” said founder and director Bob Almond. “There were various concerns regarding popularity, visibility, requirements, and other things. We listened, and after much deliberation within our core committee, we worked it out and decided it was time to implement the change. Now it’s up to the inkers to send in their work.”

Those interested will have till December 31, 2018, to submit their work. Full details and instructions, including rules, are available on the advocacy’s website. Unlike some others, The Inkwell Awards will not charge a submission fee. “We want every ink artist to have their shot,” Almond said. 

Final nominees will be decided by spring of 2019 when voting will be open for the public. The winners will be announced at the Inkwells’ live awards ceremony in the summer.

The five categories of The Inkwell Awards are:
1) Favorite Inker: favorite ink artist over the pencil work of another artist.
2) Most-adaptable: showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists (minimum of two cited sources).
3) Props award: ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencillers.
4) The S.P.A.M.I: for favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent, inking over another penciller (non-Marvel or DC work).
5) All-in-one award: for favorite artist known for inking his/ her own pencil work.

The Inkwell Awards is an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public and promote the art form of comic-book inking. Entering its 11th year, the organization is overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various professional ambassadors, numerous contributors and supporters. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. 

05 Oct 2018

Hello–

BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! After 10 years and much feedback, the one-of-a-kind, non-profit Inkwell Awards is changing its nominating procedure so everyone gets a fairer shot. 

Now YOU, the ink artist (or your agent/publisher), can submit your work for nomination in any of our five categories. (Unlike some other awards, we will not charge a fee.) While our volunteer nomination committee (“NomCom”) can still submit their choices, they just can’t see all the wonderful work during the year from all publishers large and small. So it’s up to YOU! The specifics:

WHO WE ARE: 

In case you still haven’t heard, The Inkwell Awards (inkwellawards.com) is an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public and promote the art form of comic-book inking, as well as annually recognize and award the best ink artists and their work. Now entering our 11th year, the organization is overseen by a volunteer committee of industry professionals and assisted by various pro ambassadors, numerous contributors and supporters. We sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Kubert School and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.

WHAT TO SEND:

  1. Up to THREE interior pages of professional comic-book ink work you’ve done from any USA-published comic book (per categories below) COVER-DATED 2018. Send links to your sample(s) (not general site links), or low-res image files. Do not send large 300ppi files–we’re not a printer!
  2. (Make sure you read and understand the ADDITONAL RULES below before sending.)
  3. Your NAME, preferred EMAIL ADDRESS, the TITLE/ISSUE #(s) and PUBLISHER.
  4. The CATEGORY(-IES) to which it belongs. (You may submit the same or different work to different categories, EXCEPT “Favorite Inker” and “Props”–pick one or the other.) Categories are:

1) Favorite Inker: favorite ink artist over the pencils of another artist. (Can’t be nominated for “Props.”)

2) Most-adaptable: showing exceptional ink style versatility over other pencil artists. (Minimum TWO pages, up to three.)

3) Props award: ink artist deserving of more attention for their work over other pencillers.

4) The S.P.A.M.I: for favorite Small Press And Mainstream-Independent comic book ink work over another pencil artist (Non-Marvel or DC).

5)All-in-one award: for favorite artist inking his/her own pencils.

WHERE TO SEND: Email samples to inkwellawards@yahoo.com, with the Subject “2018 Inkwell Awards.” (Questions? Same email or ask us on Facebook or Twitter @inkwellawards.)

WHEN TO SEND: The deadline is DECEMBER 31st, 2018 (we’ll post reminders, but earlier is better).

Since this is our first try at this, we have to be strict. PLEASE help us help you by following the directions specifically. If not, your work cannot be considered. We are merely a few working professionals who volunteer when time allows so we don’t have the time/manpower to micro-manage. 

ADDITIONAL RULES: 

-Inks can be with traditional or digital tools (e.g., brush, pen, marker, stylus, Apple Pen, Wacom, etc., but NOT pencils darkened/manipulated via Photoshop or other software).
-Our volunteer NomCom may also submit their choices. All entries will be considered equally and tallied. 

The core committee is not permitted to nominate, nor vote, for anyone (so save your bribes). 

-All links sent must be to the specific pages being considered. Any general site links will be ignored.

-If work does not meet the criteria above or is not submitted in accordance with these rules, it will not be considered. Fraudulent entries will be voided and will result in your not being considered for any future awards (and any awards won will be forfeited and given to the runner-up.) 

-The Inkwell Awards is not responsible for any power outages, server issues, software or hardware malfunctions, human error, acts of God, zombie apocalypses and any other stuff beyond our control. 

Again, if you have questions or need more info, send an email to either inkwellawards@yahoo.com, or to me directly at the address below.

Thank you and good luck!

Sincerely,

Bob Almond (and The Inkwell Awards Committee)

dmralmond@gmail.com

inkwellawards.com

@inkwellawards