Alison Bechdel has been named one of this year’s MacArthur Foundation grant winners, often known as a genius grant.
Bechdel was cited for being
…a cartoonist and graphic memoirist exploring the complexities of familial relationships in multilayered works that use the interplay of word and image to weave sophisticated narratives. Bechdel’s command of sequential narrative and her aesthetic as a visual artist was established in her long-running comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For (1983–2008), which realistically captured the lives of women in the lesbian community as they influenced and were influenced by the important cultural and political events of the day.
The grant confers not only recognition as a leading thinker, but a stipend of 625,000, paid in quarterly installments over five years. Recipients are chosen for their future potential and the grant allows is intended to “encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.”
Bechdel’s achievements in furthering the medium of the graphic novel—and her immense potential for future work—indeed makes her a worthy recipient. As if being a great cartoonist wasn’t enough, the musical adaptation of her book, Fun Home is coming to Broadway next April.
Cartoonist Ben Katchor was the first cartoonist to win a grant in 2000.
Yay! Her work has brought me so much joy.
Hmm… I thought Art Spiegelman had won a MacArthur grant…?
Congrats to Ms. Bechdel!
Sweet, congrats Alison! One of the best cartoonists out there!!
This is fantastic to see-not only recognition for Alison as a talented story teller but also for recognition of the format and the comics medium as literature.
Spiegleman should have been awarded the prize way back in the day, but it has taken many of the awards a long time to recognize the value of comics as literature.
Congratulations to Ms. Bechdel!
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Oh good, maybe she can quit her day job now
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Bechdel Rules!