by BK Munn
The 33rd Festival Québec BD is coming up in April in Quebec City and one of the featured events as usual are the Bédéis Causa awards! A jury made up of booksellers and and comics journalists has nominated a bevy of French-language comics in eight categories of Prizes to be awarded at a ceremony taking place at the Musée de la civilization de Québec, on Friday, April 17. The big news this year is that the translation prize has been renamed the Prix Roberto-Wilson. Roberto Wilson came to Canada in 1952 and was the first author of Haitian origin to publish comics in Quebec, notably the series Les Aventures by Robert and Roland . About this namechange, the director of the awards, Thomas-Louis Côté, notes, “In addition to having been a resident of Quebec and an outstanding author of his time, this is a great opportunity to highlight the contribution of a creator from an immigrant background .”
Other awards not listed here include the Prix Albert-Chartier, a lifetime achievement styled award given to an individual or organization for contributions to the world of French-language comics in Quebec. As well, the Prix Jacques-Hurtubise is a grant of $1,000 offered by the Pantoute Bookstore, intended to help a young cartoonist to complete a self-published book.
Here are the nominees:
GRAND PRIX VILLE DE QUÉBEC
(best French-language comic published in Quebec by a Canadian)
- Comment les paradis fiscaux ont ruiné mon petit-déjeuner, by François Samson-Dunlop (Écosociété)
- Paul à la maison, by Michel Rabagliati (La Pastèque)
- Contacts, by Mélanie Leclerc (Mécanique générale)
- Jours d’attente, by Simon Leclerc and Thomas Desaulniers-Brousseau (La Pastèque))
- Rédemption Vols 1-3, by Leif Tande (Glénat Québec)
PRIX RÉAL-FILLION
(for Best first pro publication)
- Marie-Noëlle Hébert, for La Grosse laide (Éditions XYZ)
- Brigitte Archambault, for Le Projet Shiatsung (Mécanique générale)
- Stéphane Lemardelé, for Le Nouveau monde paysan au Québec (La Boîte à Bulles)
PRIX YVETTE-LAPOINTE
(Best French-language comic for kids by a Canadian creator)
- Si on était T. 1, by Axelle Lenoir (Front Froid)
- Mort et déterré Vol. 1, by Jocelyn Boisvert et Pascal Colpron (Dupuis)
- Guiby le superbébé Vol. 1, by Sampar (Éditions Michel Quintin)
- U-Merlin Vol. 2, by Jean-François Laliberté and Sacha Lefebvre (Éditions Michel Quintin)
- Aventurosaure Vol. 2, by Julien Paré-Sorel (Presses Aventure)
PRIX ALBÉRIC-BOURGEOIS
(Best foreign-published French-language book by a Canadian)
- Zaroff, by François Miville-Deschênes and Sylvain Runberg (Lombard)
- Les Vacheries des Nombrils Vol. 2, by Delaf & Dubuc (Dupuis)
- Mort et déterré Vol. 1, by Jocelyn Boisvert and Pascal Colpron (Dupuis)
PRIX MAURICE-PETITDIDIER
(Jury’s favourite foreign French-language book by a non-Canadian)
- Préférence Système, by Ugo Bienvenu (Denoël)
- Dans la tête de Sherlock Holmes, by Cyril Lieron and Benoît Dahan (Ankama)
- Le Royaume de Blanche-Fleur, by Benoit Feroumont (Dupuis)
PRIX ROBERTO-WILSON
(Best translated book)
- In Waves, by AJ Dungo (Casterman)
- Speak, by Emily Carroll (Rue de Sèvres)
- Les Montagnes hallucinées Vol. 1, by Gou Tanabe (Ki-oon)