Welcome to the Excelsior Award
What is the Excelsior Award?
The Excelsior Award is the only fully independent, nationwide book award for graphic novels and manga - where kids aged 9-16 decide the winner (via four age-appropriate categories) by rating each book as they read it! The award now regularly attracts over a hundred schools from all over the UK and Ireland.
For 2026, twenty graphic novels/manga were selected for the four age-appropriate shortlists. The overall goal of this scheme is to encourage reading amongst teenagers. However, its secondary target is to raise the profile of graphic novels and manga amongst school librarians and teachers. This storytelling medium has been a largely underused resource within education for many years. The Excelsior Award attempts to highlight some of the amazing books that are out there - books that fully deserve to be in our school libraries alongside regular fiction!
Winner 2026
DC x Sonic the Hedgehog (published by DC Comics) is the overall winner of the Excelsior Award 2026, as chosen by the students of the UK. An unexpected crossover for the ages that has fired the imaginations of fans of both comics and gaming across the UK! Thank you to all the schools that took part this year.
With Great Power There Must Also Come.... Great Supporters!
Many thanks to the following companies, organisations and institutions for their continuing support....
Sheffield Space Centre
Established in 1978, The Sheffield Space Centre is one of the oldest SF, fantasy and comic shops in the UK.
AccessIt Software Ltd.
AccessIt empower educators with technology that streamlines processes and manages information and resources to improve their schools, increase student success, and drive the future of education.
Cakes With Faces
Funny t-shirts, colourful clothes, accessories and gifts with cute designs inspired by Japanese kawaii. Original designs. UK shop. Fast delivery.
Cinebook
British publisher of European comic albums and graphic novels. It describes itself as "The 9th Art Publisher," the 9th art being comics in France, Belgium and Italy.
SelfMadeHero
SelfMadeHero publish ground-breaking and beautiful work by authors and artists from across the globe, from the quirky and humorous to the political and profound.
Yen Press
American publisher of a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa and other international graphic novel content.
The Phoenix Comic
The Phoenix is a weekly comic with high quality content and no 3rd party adverts, suitable for girls and boys aged 6-12.
Nobrow
Nobrow makes great design, ground-breaking art and narrative, luscious production values and environmental consciousness central to its mission.
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics has emerged as the 4th largest comic publishing company in the United States of America. Dividing profits with artists and writers, as well as supporting artistic and creative rights in the comic book industry.
Boom! Studios
Boom! Studios is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Classical Comics
British publisher of graphic novel adaptations of the great works of literature, including Shakespeare, Brontë and Dickens.
IDW Publishing
American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. Regularly recognised as the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the United States.