Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table
The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GN&CRT) is a division of the American Library Association, focusing on comics and graphic novels.[1] It was officially recognized by the ALA in 2018.[2][3]
Leadership
As of 2026, Shauntee Burns-Simpson is the organization's president.[4]
Best Graphic Novels Lists
The GN&CRT runs two annual lists, the Best Graphic Novels for Adults list and the Best Graphic Novels for Children (aged 5-12) list. The Adults list was first released in 2020, while the Children's list launched in 2021.[5][6]
Best Graphic Novels for Adults
| Year | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Nib | Be Gay, Do Comics | [7][8] | |
| Frank "Big Black" Smith, Jared Reinmuth, Améziane | Big Black: Stand at Attica | |||
| Jim Terry | Come Home, Indio | |||
| Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva | House of X / Powers of X | |||
| G. Willow Wilson | Invisible Kingdom | |||
| Derf Backderf | Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio | |||
| Lynda Barry | Making Comics | |||
| Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy | John Jennings | Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation | ||
| Jeff Lemire | Gabriel Hernandez Walta | Sentient | ||
| James Tynion IV | Werther Dell'Edera | Something is Killing the Children Vol. 1 | ||
| 2021 | Filipe Melo | Juan Cavia | Ballad for Sophie | [9][6] |
| James Tynion IV | Martin Simmonds | Department of Truth, Vol. 1: The End of the World | ||
| Frank Herbert, adapted by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson | Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín | Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1 | ||
| N. K. Jemisin | Jamal Campbell | Far Sector | ||
| Pornsak Pichetshote | Alexandre Tefenkgi | The Good Asian, Vol. 1 | ||
| Julie Dachez | Mademoiselle Caroline | Invisible Differences | ||
| Nagata Kabi | My Alcoholic Escape from Reality | |||
| Neil Gaiman | P. Craig Russell, Mike Mignola, Jerry Ordway, Piotr Kowalski, David Rubín, Jill Thompson, and Lovern Kindzierksi | Norse Mythology, Vol. 1 | ||
| John Lewis and Andrew Aydin | Nate Powell and L. Fury | Run: Book One | ||
| Lee Lai | Stone Fruit | |||
| 2022 | Aimée de Jongh, translated by Christopher Bradley | Days of Sand | [10] | |
| Catherine Piolo | Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story | |||
| Kate Beaton | Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands | |||
| Kanehito Yamada | Tsukasa Abe | Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 1 | ||
| Fabien Toulmé (Books 1-2), Eric Orner (Book 3), translated by Hannah Chute | Fabien Toulmé | Hakim's Odyssey, Books 1-3 | ||
| James Spooner | The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere | |||
| Rachel Smythe | Lore Olympus, Vol. 1-2 | |||
| Ram V | Filipe Andrade | The Many Deaths of Laila Starr | ||
| Marjorie Liu | Sana Takeda | The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night | ||
| Sabba Khan | What is Home, Mum? | |||
| 2023 | Léonie Bischoff | Anaïs Nin: A Sea of Lies | [11] | |
| Stephen Graham Jones | Davide Gianfelice | Earthdivers Vol. 1: Kill Columbus | ||
| Tom King | Greg Smallwood | The Human Target Vol. 1-2 | ||
| Adrian Matejka | Youssef Daoudi | Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century | ||
| Yann Damezon, translated by Thomas Harrison and Aqsa Ijaz | Majnun and Layla: Songs from Beyond the Grave | |||
| James Tynion IV | Álvaro Martinez Bueno | The Nice House on the Lake (Deluxe Edition) | ||
| Susumu Higa | Okinawa | |||
| Mariko Tamaki | Jillian Tamaki | Roaming | ||
| Deena Mohamed | Shubeik Lubeik | |||
| Darrin Bell | The Talk | |||
| 2024 | Scott Snyder | Tula Lotay | Barnstormers: A Ballad of Love & Murder | [12] |
| Patrick Horvath | Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Vol. 1 | |||
| Maria Sweeney | Brittle Joints | |||
| James Tynion IV | Joshua Hixson | The Deviant, Vol. 1 | ||
| Tessa Hulls | Feeding Ghosts | |||
| Keigo Shinzo | Hirayasumi, Vol. 1 | |||
| Boum, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher | The Jellyfish | |||
| Denise Dorrance | Polar Vortex: A Family Memoir | |||
| Ram V | Filipe Andrade | Rare Flavours | ||
| Peter Wohlleben, translated by Fred Bernard | Benjamin Flao | The Hidden Life of Trees | ||
| 2025 | Joonas Sildre | Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt's Journey to his Musical Language | [14] | |
| Nobuyuki Fukumoto | Kaiji Kawaguchi | Confession | ||
| Kaori Ozaki | Dogs and Punching Bags | |||
| Craig Thompson | Ginseng Roots: A Memoir | |||
| Tom Scioli | Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theater | |||
| Tom King | Bilquis Evely | Helen of Wyndhorn | ||
| James Albon | Love Languages | |||
| Ben Wickey | More Weight: A Salem Story | |||
| Alex Krokus | Talking to My Father's Ghost: An Almost True Story | |||
| Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett | Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day |
Best Graphic Novels for Children
| Year | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Elise Gravel | Arlo & Pips: King of the Birds, Vol. 1 and Arlo & Pips: Join the Crow Crowd, Vol. 2 | [15][6] | |
| Niki Smith | The Golden Hour | |||
| Lee Durfey-Lavoie | Veronica Agarwal | Just Roll with It | ||
| Trung Le Nguyen | The Magic Fish | |||
| Lily LaMotte | Ann Xu | Measuring Up | ||
| Remy Lai | Pawcasso | |||
| Hope Larson | Rebecca Mock | Salt Magic | ||
| Varian Johnson | Shannon Wright | Twins | ||
| Tom Sullivan | Unsolved Case Files Vols. 1-2 | |||
| Sophie Escabasse | The Witches of Brooklyn Vol. 1-2 | |||
| 2022 | Dan Santat | The Aquanaut | [16] | |
| Thomas King | Natasha Donovan | Borders | ||
| Guojing | The Flamingo | |||
| Claribel A. Ortega | Rose Bousamra | Frizzy | ||
| Christina Diaz Gonzalez | Gabriela Epstein | Invisible | ||
| Alexis Castellanos | Isla to Island | |||
| Jonathan Case | Little Monarchs | |||
| Trang Nguyễn | Jeet Zdũng | Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear | ||
| Johnnie Christmas | Swim Team | |||
| Victoria Grace Elliott | Yummy: A History of Desserts | |||
| 2023 | Samuel Sattin | Rye Hickman | Buzzing | [17] |
| Jessixa Bagley | Aaron Bagley | Duel | ||
| Dan Santat | A First Time for Everything | |||
| Lauren Stohler | Gnome and Rat | |||
| Zachary Sterling | Mabuhay! | |||
| Eric Gapstur | The Magma Cup (Sort of Super #2) | |||
| Pedro Martín | Mexikid | |||
| Mac Smith | Scurry | |||
| Victoria Grace Elliott | Tasty: A History of Yummy Experiments | |||
| Ben Hatke | Things in the Basement | |||
| 2024 | Francisco Jiménez, adapted by Andrew J. Rostan | Celia Jacobs | The Circuit Graphic Novel | [18] |
| Brian Freschi | Elena Triolo | Ellie in First Position | ||
| Estelle Nadel, Sammy Savos, and Bethany Strout | Sammy Savos | The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival | ||
| Lee Gee Eun | The Legend of Tiger and Tail-Flower | |||
| Cai Tse | Lion Dancers | |||
| Vera Brosgol | Plain Jane and the Mermaid | |||
| Grant Snider | Poetry Comics | |||
| Trang Nguyễn | Jeet Zdũng, Phuong An, Hoang Long, and Ngoc Hoan | Saving H'Non: Chang and the Elephant | ||
| Lydia Corry | Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson | |||
| Kengo Kurimoto | Wildful | |||
| 2025 | Guy Kopsombut | Badge Quest: A Cheesy Brie-ginning! Book 1 | [19][20] | |
| Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud | The Cartoonists Club | |||
| Michael Regina | Deepwater Creek | |||
| Gale Galligan | Fresh Start | |||
| Paige Walshe | Froggy: A Pond Full of Pals! | |||
| Jewell Parker Rhodes | Setor Fiadzigbey | Ghost Boys: The Graphic Novel | ||
| Michael Emberley | Isla to Island | |||
| Guojing | Oasis | |||
| Rita Williams-Garcia | Sharee Miller | One Crazy Summer: The Graphic Novel | ||
| Tina Cho | Deb JJ Lee | The Other Side of Tomorrow |
Outstanding Comics Awards
In 2024, the GN&CRT introduced the Outstanding Comics Awards, which honors the best graphic novels of the year. It is split into three audience groups, Children, Young Adults, and Adults, with each being further split into three categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Series.[21][22] The first recipients of the awards were announced in January 2026.[23][24][25]
Outstanding Comics Award for Children
| Year | Category | Author | Artist | Title | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fiction | Paige Walshe | Froggy: A Pond Full of Pals! | Won | [26][24] | |
| Gale Galligan | Fresh Start | Honor | ||||
| Raúl the Third | The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day | Honor | ||||
| Non-fiction | Cindy Chang | How to Draw a Secret | Won | |||
| Daniel Miyares | How to Say Goodbye in Cuban | Honor | ||||
| Anne Lambelet | I'm a Dumbo Octopus!: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods | Honor | ||||
| Series | Sophie Escabasse | Witches of Brooklyn. Vol. 1-5 | Won | |||
| Tehlor Kay Mejia, Roseanne A. Brown | Junyi Wu, Justin & Alexis Hernandez, Kaylee Rowena | Are You Afraid of the Dark? Vol. 1-2 | Honor | |||
| Lucy Knisley | Peapod Farm Vol.1-3 | Honor |
Outstanding Comics Award for Young Adults
| Year | Category | Author | Artist | Title | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fiction | Juni Ba | The Boy Wonder | Won | [27][24] | |
| Taylor Robin | Hunger's Bite | Honor | ||||
| Keezy Young | Hello Sunshine | Honor | ||||
| Non-fiction | Briana Loewinsohn | Raised by Ghosts | Won | |||
| Kristina Gehrmann (translated by I.T. Hahnenberger and E. Castle | Bloody Mary | Honor | ||||
| Debbie Tung | My Perfectly Imperfect Body | Honor | ||||
| Series | Kami Garcia | Gabriel Picolo and various artists | Teen Titans, Vol 1-5 | Won | ||
| Tony Fleecs | Trish Forstner, Tone Rodriguez, and Sara Richard | Feral, Vol 1-2 | Honor | |||
| Miyu Morishita | Tsumiki Ogami's Not-So-Ordinary Life, Vol 1-2 | Honor |
Outstanding Comics Award for Adults
| Year | Category | Author | Artist | Title | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fiction | Anders Brekhus Nilsen | Tongues | Won | [28][24] | |
| Jesse Lonergan | Drome | Honor | ||||
| Anaïs Flogny | Smoke Gets In Your Eyes | Honor | ||||
| Non-fiction | Peter Kuper | Insectopolis | Won | |||
| Ben Passmore | Black Arms to Hold You Up | Honor | ||||
| Series | Marjorie Liu | Sana Takeda | The Night Eaters Vol. 1-3 | Won | ||
| James Tynion IV | Martin Simmonds, Elsa Charretier, Tyler Boss, John J. Pearson, David Romero, Alison Sampson, Jorge Fornes, and Letizia Cadonici | The Department of Truth Vol. 1-6 | Honor | |||
| Atsushi Kaneko, based on work by Osamu Tezuka | Atsushi Kaneko | Search & Destroy Vol. 1-3 | Honor |
Grants
The GN&CRT offers an annual grant, The Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries, which had been given out since 2014.[29][30][31] It was previously managed by ALA’s Gaming Round Table as well as the Graphic Novels & Comics Member Initiative Group.[32]
Collaboration with ALA affiliates
The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table has collaborated with both affiliates and other divisions of the American Library Association to create "Collaboration Core List " of notable graphic novels relating to specific demographics.[33][34] Specifically, it has worked with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association for the Black Lives Matter, Black Literature Matters lists, which currently consists of two Collaboration Core List and a series of mini-list themed to specific genres,[35][36] REFORMA for a Latino-related Collaboration Core List,[37] and the Rainbow Round Table for a LGBTQ-related Collaboration Core List.[38]
See also
- Great Graphic Novels for Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), another division of the ALA
References
- ↑ "Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT) | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "How the ALA's Graphic Novel and Comics Round Table is turning libraries into comic stores". Popverse. 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ MacDonald, Heidi. "Librarians Strike Back Against Comics Bans". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
- ↑ "GNCRT Officers, July 2025 - June 2026". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2026-05-12.
- ↑ "ALA Graphic Novel Roundtable To Debut Adult Reading List". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- 1 2 3 MacDonald, Heidi (2022-01-28). "The GNCRT announces Best Graphic Novels lists for adults and kids". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
- ↑ "2020 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ Adair, Torsten (2021-02-03). "Comics librarians announce their first list of Best Graphic Novels for Adults". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "2021 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2023 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ MacDonald, Heidi (2025-02-13). "GNCRT announces 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults list". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2021 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2022 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2023 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2024 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Alverson, Brigid (2026-02-04). "Telgemeier and McCloud's 'Cartoonist Club' Makes ALA List". ICv2. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
- ↑ "Outstanding Comics Awards | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
- ↑ Bird, Betsy (2026-03-31). "Meet the Outstanding Comics Award and All That It Entails: A Talk with Jennie Law". A Fuse #8 Production. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ Beeck, Nathalie op de. "ALA's Inaugural Comics Awards Celebrate Fiction, Nonfiction, and Series". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- 1 2 3 4 Simons, Dean (2026-01-29). "GNCRT's debut Outstanding Comics Awards honor FROGGY, TONGUES, INSECTOPOLIS and more". The Beat. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ MacDonald, Heidi. "At ALA 2026, Comics Creators and Librarians Deepen Bonds". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "2025 Outstanding Comics Award for Children | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "2025 Outstanding Comics Award for Young Adults | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "2025 Outstanding Comics Award for Adults | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grant for Libraries - Growth Grant | ALA". www.ala.org. 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Will Eisner Grants for Libraries | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Applications Open for 2026 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries | ALA". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ Guzman |, Jennifer de. "ALA 2015: ALA Awards Will Eisner Library Grants". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Collaboration Core Lists | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "GNCRT Announces Two New Diversity Initiatives | ALA". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "BCALA and the ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table: Supplemental Reading Lists". Black Caucus American Library Association. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "BCALA and GNCRT Collaboration: Black Lives Matter, Black Literature Matters | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "GNCRT x REFORMA Collaboration Core List | Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Rainbow Round Table and Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table and Announce Collaboration Core List Titles | ALA". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
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