2026 Comic Book Making Contest Top Entries
K - 4th Grade
A BEE Adventure by Audriana Garcia
A Normal Day by Jovanni Avelar-Moreno
El Mejor Día by Valentina Castañeda 

5th - 8th Grade
Words Hurt by Juliette Avelar-Moreno
Puddleland by Anna Bierbaum
New Creation by Julián Talavera

9th - 12th Grade
Big Frank Issue 1: Welcome to Millerville Colorado by Julian Craytor-Ramirez
Wish for Me by Sophia Artalejo
A Friendlier Face by Treasure Luengas

Kids and teens were invited to create their own comic books and submit them to the Salinas Public Library. The Comic Book Making Contest was from May 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 and was open to all kids and teens in Monterey County. Winners received prizes and art supplies.

Submission Guidelines

• Open to kids and teens, K – 12th grade.
• Limited to a minimum length of 2 pages and maximum length of 20­­ pages, including cover page.
• Entries should be submitted as PDF, JPG, PNG, or physical paper.
• Submissions must be the original work of the submitting author, no copyrighted material and/or AI generated material.
• Participants may collaborate on a comic book; should a prize be awarded it will be for the submitted work, not per creator.
• Open to all subjects and themes.
• Entries must be library appropriate.
• Salinas Public Library reserves the right to reproduce your work.
• One entry per participant.
• Consider submitting a photocopy as submissions are non-returnable.
• Submission deadline is Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
• Open to Monterey County residents.

How to Submit Your Graphic Novel (3 Ways to Submit)

1. Complete an online submission form.

2. Print an entry form for in-person submission. Turn it in to one of the library branches along with a copy of your comic book entry. 

3. Email an entry form along with a PDF copy of your comic book entry to Andrea.Liao [at] salinas.gov

Judging

Entries will be judged on overall story, originality, creativity, and illustrations by a panel of library and community professionals (Judging Criteria).

Past winners are welcome to participate, but to recognize more artists/authors, top entries in any category from 2024 and 2025 are not eligible to be awarded top entries in this year's contest. 

Art Group and Prizes

• K – 4th School Grade - Art supplies awarded to top three entries.
• 5th – 8th School Grade - Art supplies awarded to top three entries.
• 9th – 12th School Grade - Art supplies awarded to top three entries.

Winners will be announced on Saturday, July 25, 2026.

Resources

Printable Comic Book Template
If you want to start making a comic book but don’t know where to begin, we have created a comic book template. Print a few copies to start working on your own comic book.

Creating Storyboards for Graphic Novels, Virtual Interview
Fernando interviewed Mat Heagerty and Steph Mided, the creators of Martian Ghost Centaur, to discuss their process for crafting a storyboard for their graphic novel.

Character Design, Virtual Interview
Jax M & Chibs, character designers and library marketing specialists, talked about basic character design.

Interview with Graphic Novel Creator Yehudi Mercado
Chris talked to Yehudi Mercado about his upcoming memoir graphic novel, Chunky, and his previous work. Yehudi also gave advice about working in the comic book industry.

Interview with Graphic Novel Creators Jey Odin & Jarod Pratt
Jey Odin and Jarod Pratt talked about their collaboration on the graphic novel Lemonade Code. They also gave us tips on how to write/draw a graphic novel and other cool tips.

Interview with Graphic Novel Creator Chris Grine
Chris Grine talked about his comics The Secrets of Camp Whatever and the Animorphs adaptation. He also gave some advice on comic book creation and his experiences working in the industry.

For more information, contact Andrea at Andrea.Liao [at] salinas.gov