As Emily Haworth-Booth picks up the seventh Observer/Cape/Comica prize for graphic short stories, judge Rachel Cooke tells us what this year's entries reveal about the state of comics today. We also track down two past winners of the award, Isabel Greenberg and Stephen Collins, whose first graphic novels are both published this year.
Greenberg's Nord Man made his first appearance in her winning story, Love in a Very Cold Climate, where he attempted a chilly romance with a woman from the south pole. His quest for enlightenment and true love continues in The Encyclopedia of Early Earth. Greenberg explains why she chose to write a prehistoric fable, outlines the process by which she makes her work, and shares something of her influences.
Stephen Collins tells us how The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil started off as a joke and evolved into something much darker. He talks about the versatility of the medium, the disruptive nature of facial hair and how comics are only a hair's breadth away from surrealism.
We also warm up for the Guardian first book award by talking to Hannah Kent about her first novel Burial Rites, which is longlisted for the prize. She tells us why she travelled from her native Australia to Iceland as a teenager, and how that adventure led to her to the real-life story of the last Icelandic woman to be hanged.
Reading list
The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg (Cape)
The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins (Cape)
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (Picador)
