The second annual Selkie awards were announced at 19.00 GMT on 5 December 2025. Congratulations to all of our winners and nominees!
Photo by Claire McNamee
Hannah Berry is an occasionally award-winning comics creator, scriptwriter and campaigner, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and UK Comics Laureate 2019-21.
Author of three graphic novels for Jonathan Cape - BRITTEN & BRÜLIGHTLY, ADAMTINE, and LIVESTOCK - she has also contributed comics to a wide variety of publications from 2000AD to The New England Journal of Medicine.
Berry is a founding committee member of the Society of Authors’ Comics Creators Network and co-founder and co-director of the Comics Cultural Impact Collective.
Mark Penman is a comic writer/artist and academic based in Leeds. Mark's works are mainly self published and specialise in world building and storytelling. These areas are the focus of his career as a comics academic and as a senior lecturer on the BA Hons Comic and Concept Art course at Leeds Arts University. He has produced a series of graphic novels set within his own fantasy world, arranged a number of comics anthologies and worked with John Reppion to produce an adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. This was part of a research project in using comics as an accessible medium for introducing people to classical literature. From this work Mark has been invited to speak about adapting the text at academic conferences such as Spirits of Place and Thought Bubble comic convention.
Shazleen Khan is a queer Bangladeshi Muslim Illustrator and Author based in London. Their work centers experiences of diaspora, religious mysticism and complicated inter-personal relationships; whether it be romantic or familial.
Shazleen began self-publishing their comics as a teenager and has since gone on to achieve a Bachelor's degree in Illustration and a Master's Degree in Children's Book and Graphic Novels.
They work full time as an Illustrator and occasionally work as a lecturer and speaker. Their notable works include Ignatz award winning webcomic BUUZA!! and Eisner and Harvey nominated middle grade graphic novel Saving Sunshine (First Second / Macmillan, 2023, written by Saadia Faruqi).
Thanks to Anabelle & Benoit of La Belle Adventure Bookshop in Edinburgh for once again supporting us during the shortlisting process!
Thank you also to the other members of our shortlisting team: Sarracenian and Ten Van Winkle. Your insights and perspectives were truly invaluable!