Scott McCloud's Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels won the 2007 Quill Award in the 'Graphic Novel'category.  Published by Harper in September of 2006, Making Comics ($22.95) lays bare the narrative nuances of the comics medium and is the perfect complement to McCloud's groundbreaking Understanding Comics, which was published in 1993.  Making Comics triumphed over a number of other nominees in the graphic novel category that included Bryan Talbot's Alice in Sunderland (Dark Horse), Osamu Tezuka's Ode to Kirihito (Vertical), Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly) and Marguerite Abouet's Aya (Drawn & Quarterly) (see 'Quill Award Nominees Announced').

 

Making Comics has been a strong seller in the bookstore market, where it ranks in the top ten in non-manga sales for 2007, while direct market retailers interviewed by ICv2 for its Graphic Novel Guides uniformly report steady sales on the title, which is a 'must-read' for anyone interested in creating or appreciating comics.

 

The Quill Awards, which seek to promote reading and literacy with a People's Choice Awards-type of TV show, will be announced during an award's show, which NBC will broadcast on Saturday October 27th.  The winners in several categories including graphic novels were announced by Ann Curry and Al Roker on The Today Show.

 

Brian Selznick's Invention of Hugo Cabret, which is not a traditional graphic novel, but which combines prose and pictures to tell a very entertaining story (see 'Scholastic's Graphic Novel Plans'), won in the 'Children's Chapter Book' category.