The Dash Grant awards one artist $500 to complete and premiere their comic at the festival, a discount on printing at a local Risograph community studio, mentorship, and a spot in our annual art show. Interested artists designate their desire to be considered for this grant in their festival application and are contacted by a small board of jurors for further information about their book projects.
Katie Kelso Travel Grants are awarded to artists who want to travel to Seattle for the festival. There is no formal application, interested artists designate their desire to be considered for this grant in their festival application.
These micro-grants are made possible by individual donations/community fundraising; this money is separate from the larger grants we receive as an organization, table fees, and other sources of income.
Previous Dash Grant recipients:
(2023) Molly Colleen O’Connell
(2022) Julia Wald
(2019) Rumi Hara
(2018) November Garcia
(2017) Rebecca Artemisa
(2016) Brendan Kiefer
(2015) Krish Raghav
Katie Kelso Travel Grant recipients:
(2023) Gil Goletski, Juli Majer, Sanika Phawde, S.A.R.A (Sociedad Anónima Reproducción Autogestiva)
(2022) golden collier, Empress Editions/Anna Tararova, Saoirse Alesandro, & Dustin Garcia
(2019) Alejandra Espino & Cole Pauls
(2018) Charlene Man & Ben Passmore
Molly Colleen O’Connell from Berwyn, IL is our Dash Grant recipient this year, for her mini-comic “Pebbles #2” which will premiere at Short Run on Nov. 4th!
Pebbles 2: the next chapter in the story of an ornithophile who tries new meds. “It’s Total Recall meets Heathers” – Conor Stechschulte Read more…
We congratulate this year’s recipients of a Katie Kelso Travel Grant!
Local artist and illustrator Julia Wald is this year’s DASH GRANT recipient! We were really excited about her story synapsis and hyper-color drawing style of her upcoming comic, Uncle Scam’s Army Navy Surplus, an autobiography of their first job out of school in Buffalo, working at an army navy surplus store where they sold military gear to doomsday preppers, zombie cosplayers, and neo Nazis. This first part of a much longer story will premiere at Short Run on Nov. 5th. Read more…
Each of these incredible artists & festival exhibitors will receive $400 towards their travel to Seattle for Short Run on Nov. 5th! Read more…
We’re so thrilled that our Dash Grant winner Rumi Hara was able to come to Seattle a few days early and screen print her covers for her gorgeous new mini-comic, The Peanut Butter Sisters. She had this to say, “I had a wonderful time in Seattle! It was amazing being part of the Short Run community, meeting new friends through comics and being inspired to keep making more books. I’m so grateful for the time and space and all the encouragement I was given to make the new comic.”
Congratulations to Alejandra Espino and Cole Pauls! Each artist exhibitor will receive $200 to be used towards traveling to Short Run on Nov. 9th!
Two $200 grants will be awarded this year to traveling exhibitors who express financial need. Short Run had the honor of knowing Katie Kelso, a true adventurer and lover of books, who passed away in 2017. Her gift helps artists with travel expenses getting to Seattle for Short Run. We will never forget her!
Exhibitors – this is not a separate application, simply mark that you are in need of financial assistance in the exhibitor app. No explanation needed.
We are happy to announce that after much deliberation, we have selected Rumi Hara, a comic artist and illustrator from Brooklyn, NY, as this year’s Dash Grant winner. The grant provides $250, a half table at the festival, mentorship by a special guest, access & instruction to local screen print co-op, and a place in our annual art show at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery. Rumi’s book is about the adventures of the scavenging “Peanut Butter Sisters” as they get along in life with the guidance of nature- they travel on the backs of whales and energy of hurricanes. The story evolves as their resources dry up and they have to have more human interactions.
We’re excited to announce that November Garcia is our Dash grant winner for 2018. We are looking forward to helping her publish Marlarkey #3, her autobiographical mini-comic. Garcia is a cartoonist born and raised in the Philippines. She lived in San Francisco for most of her 20s and 30s but has now moved back home. We are interested in the comics she makes documenting this change of lifestyle. We can’t wait to have her at Short Run in November! Read more…
Rebecca’s proposed comic re-tells the Mexican urban legend/ghost story of La Llorona (the weeping woman). The comic will include retablos (devotional paintings) dedicated to her legend, as well as interactive ghost story instructions for the reader, spells, brujeria (witchcraft), and will be done entirely from La Llorona’s silent, observant perspective. We were captivated by her beautiful gouache paintings and story synapsis and are excited to see the finished comic! Read more…
The winner of 2016 The Dash grant – recent Seattle transplant, Brendan Kiefer! Read more…
Our first Dash Grant winner is Krish Raghav, for his travelogue comic “Estilo Hindu”. Read more…
