Michael Cavna
Alma materUniversity of California, San Diego
GenreArts, journalist

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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