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Michael Cavna is an American writer, artist and cartoonist. He is creator of the "Comic Riffs" column for The Washington Post.

His column has received more than a dozen national awards from the Society for Features Journalism, in 2013,[1] 2014,[2] 2015,[3] 2016,[4] 2017[5] and 2021.[6]

Career

He graduated from University of California, San Diego.

His "Wise Up" cartoon launched the viral #Draw4Atena campaign in 2015 on behalf of jailed Iranian artist Atena Farghadani.[7]

Cavna wrote the Harvey Award-nominated journalism profile for the Eisner Award-nominated book Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's.[8] He was the emcee and co-programmer of the first-ever "Graphic Novel Night" Pavilion at the Library of Congress's National Book Festival.[9]

In February 2015, Cavna began a cartoon that was updated monthly to mark the 545-day detention of American-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian of The Washington Post;[10] the National Press Club (United States) used the cartoon to raise awareness about Rezaian's case.[11]

Awards

In April 2016, his "Comic Riffs" column was an Eisner Award[12] finalist for journalism.

In April 2017, his "Comic Riffs" columns received a National Headliner Award[13] for lifestyle writing. In May 2017, "Comic Riffs" received a second Eisner Award[14] nomination for journalism. In October 2017, Cavna shared his personal "Peanuts" history in the Eisner Award-winning book[15] Celebrating Snoopy.[16]

In April 2018, Cavna, with narrator/animator Tom Racine, won the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award[17] for his audio/visual storytelling for "For Art's Sake."[18]

In April 2019, his "Comic Riffs" column portfolio of arts writing and illustration received a second National Headliner Award.[19]

In June 2020, his "Comic Riffs" received a third Eisner Award[20] nomination for journalism.

In 2021, Cavna’s cultural coverage received a third National Headliner Award.[21]

In 2023, Cavna received the Ink Bottle Award from the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. [22]

References

  1. ^ "Winners Announced: 25th Annual Features Journalism Contest". Society for Features Journalism. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  2. ^ Gardner, Alan. "SPJ Awards Go to Cavna (x3) and Racine". The Daily Cartoonist. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  3. ^ "SFJ Honors the Best in Features Journalism". Society for Features Journalism. 23 June 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "Society for Features Journalism Honors the Best in Its Field". Society for Features Journalism. 7 June 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  5. ^ "Congratulations to 2017 Excellence in Features Writing Winners". Society for Features Journalism. 13 June 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  6. ^ "Society for Features Journalism Excellence-In-Features Awards". Society for Features Journalism. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 11 Oct 2021.
  7. ^ Walsh, James (June 12, 2015). "#Draw4Atena: add your cartoons in support of the jailed Iranian artist". The Guardian. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  8. ^ Sparks, Chris (June 5, 2012). Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 144. ISBN 978-1449419660. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  9. ^ Gavin, Jennifer. "Stellar graphic novelists to appear". Library of Congress. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  10. ^ Mullin, Benjamin. "This illustration counts the days since Jason Rezaian was arrested". Poynter media. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. ^ National Press Club. "2015 National Press Club Beat the Deadline 5K". Press,org. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  12. ^ "2016 Eisner Awards nominees". San Diego Comic-Con International. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  13. ^ "Local cartoonists Medina and Cavna win Headliner Awards". Comics DC. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  14. ^ "2017 Eisner Awards nominees". San Diego Comic-Con International. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  15. ^ "2018 Eisner Award winners". San Diego Comic-Con International. 17 December 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  16. ^ Schulz, Charles (October 24, 2017). Celebrating Snoopy. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 560. ISBN 978-1449419660. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  17. ^ "Cavna wins award from Society of Professional Journalists". Comics DC. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  18. ^ "For Art's Sake: The Newspaper My Father Gave Me..." YouTube. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  19. ^ "Mike Cavna takes 2nd place newspaper award for Comic Riffs blog". Comics DC. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  20. ^ "2020 Eisner Awards nominees". San Diego Comic-Con International. 2 June 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  21. ^ "2021 National Headliner Award winners!". Headliner Awards. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  22. ^ "The Daily Cartoonist Wins Ink Bottle Award, As Does Comic Riffs, The Nib, & Dabaghian !". The Daily Cartoonist. 8 October 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.

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