Glidden’s ‘Rolling Blackouts’ Wins 2017 Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize

Sarah Glidden’s Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria and Iraq, a comics memoir and account travels throughout the Middle East, has been awarded the 2017 Lynd Ward Prize for Graphic Novel of the Year by Penn State University Libraries.

Published by Drawn and Quarterly, Rolling Blackouts is the story of Glidden’s travels in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, accompanied by two journalists and a former Marine, and their encounters with politicians, civilians and refugees dealing with life on the front lines of war. The book takes on the complexities and obstacles that face journalists in the region as well as illuminating the stories and lives of ordinary people trapped by the brutal, seemingly endless conflict.

Named after Lynd Ward, a graphic artist who created six acclaimed wordless graphic novels between 1929 and 1937, the Lynd Ware Prize honors the best work of graphic fiction or nonfiction published in the previous year. The winner receives a $2,500 cash prize in addition to a set of Ward’s six novels published by the Library of America. The prize will be awarded Glidden at a ceremony this fall at Pattee Library and Paterno Library on Penn State’s University Park campus.

The jury also cited two books for honors awards. Jules Feiffer’s Cousin Joseph, published by Liveright Publishing, was called a “captivating story about anti-union sentiments and the fear of socialists in Hollywood,” by the jurors. And Lisa Hanawalt’s Hot Dog Taste Test published by Drawn & Quarterly, was honored by the jurors who described the book as “a laugh-out-loud celebration of individuality and the goofy everyday thoughts.”

The Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize is administered by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.