The Xeric Foundation is a private,
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
corporation based in
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...
, which for twenty years
awarded self-publishing grants to
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
creators, as well as qualified charitable and
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
organizations. The Xeric Foundation was established by
Peter Laird
Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.
Early life and career
Laird was born on January 27, 1 ...
, co-creator of the ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...
''.
Mission and operation
Laird founded the Foundation after considerable thought, as "an appropriate way to give back something extra to the comics world," by providing grants for self-publishers.
[Wiater, Stanley & Bissette, Stephen R. (ed.s) ''Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics'' (Donald I. Fine, Inc. 1993) .] Laird stated that the Xeric Foundation is "actually two foundations in one. One half of it is for charitable organizations, and the other half is for creators who want to
self-publish
Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...
their comics."
The latter half is what the foundation is best known for.
Self-publishing grants
The Xeric Foundation supported work of an
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...
or non-"mainstream" nature, reasoning that if a comic had strong commercial appeal, it would be picked up by one of the major publishers. The Foundation was an extremely valuable supporter of "art for art's sake" comics, and helped launch the careers of a number of "literary" cartoonists.
The Foundation assisted comic book creators with some of the costs in self-publishing their work; it was not the Foundation's intention to fully support an artist/writer through the entire process of self-publishing, but rather to encourage creators to experience the learning process involved in working towards such a goal.
The creative side of the Foundation involved the usual application process, but in addition, the Foundation began with "an advisory committee made up of three ... people working in the industry" whose input is sought on how best to proceed with each application.
Submissions were evaluated prior to Laird's involvement, and then he made the ultimate decisions based on their recommendations.
History
Laird founded the Xeric Foundation in 1992, the name "originat
ngout of a
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a Board game, game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, re ...
game with
aird'sbrother Don," "Xeric" simply being "a word
elike
" literally meaning "
dry and desertlike" but which "has absolutely no direct connection with the foundation."
The Foundation's first grant cycle was in September 1992,
Xeric Foundation website.
Retrieved July 26, 2008. with the first recipients being Robert Eaton, Michael Kasper, Jeff Nicholson
Jeff Nicholson (born October 5, 1962) is an American comic book writer, artist and self-publisher, known primarily for his work on ''Ultra Klutz'', ''Through the Habitrails'', ''Father & Son'', and ''Colonia''. Nicholson received a total of six ...
, and Wayne Wise & Fred Wheaton
Fred or FRED may refer to:
People
* Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Mononym
* Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French
* Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...
.
In 1993 Laird discussed the Foundation's projected lifespan:
He hoped that ultimately the figure can be raised from "thousands of dollars" to "hundreds of thousands of dollars," to support an increasing number of large and small projects.[Laird, Peter]
"The Xeric Foundation's upcoming 20th anniversary will bring a changed focus in grant-giving,"
Xeric Foundation (July 14, 2011). Accessed July 19, 2011.
Altogether, the Xeric Foundation has awarded in excess of $2,500,000 since its first grant cycle.
Notable Xeric Award recipients
Notable past winners of the Xeric Grant include Megan Kelso
Megan Kelso (born February 5, 1968, in Seattle, Washington) is an American comic book artist and writer.
Early life and education
Kelso received her B.A. from Evergreen State University, where she studied history and political science.
Car ...
(1993), David Lasky
David Lasky is an alternative cartoonist based in Seattle, Washington.
Biography
After spending the bulk of his early life in Virginia, and graduating from the College of William & Mary, Lasky moved to Seattle in 1992. He quickly found a circl ...
(1993), Jason Lutes
Jason Lutes (born December 7, 1967) such as unit portraits for the open-source video game Battle for Wesnoth (2006), a map for ''Dominions 3: The Awakening'' (2006), and website illustration for ''City of Heroes'' (2005).
References
External l ...
(1993), Adrian Tomine
Adrian Tomine (; born May 31, 1974) is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series ''Optic Nerve'' and his illustrations in ''The New Yorker''.
Early life
Adrian Tomine was born May 31, 1974, in Sacramento, Califo ...
(1993), Tom Hart (1994), Jessica Abel
Jessica Abel (born 1969) is an American comic book writer and artist, known as the creator of such works as ''Life Sucks'', ''Drawing Words & Writing Pictures'', ''Soundtrack'', ''La Perdida'', ''Mirror, Window'', ''Radio: An Illustrated Guide' ...
(1995), Bebe Williams
''Art Comics Daily'' is a pioneering webcomic first published in March 1995 by Bebe Williams, who lives in Arlington County, Virginia, Arlington, Virginia, United States.Peterson, Iver (October 28, 1996). "The Search for the Next 'Doonesbury". ''T ...
(1995), James Sturm
James Sturm (born 1965) is an American cartoonist and co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. Sturm is also the founder of the National Association of Comics Art Educators (NACAE), an organization committe ...
(1996), Ellen Forney
Ellen Forney (born March 8, 1968) is an American cartoonist, educator, and wellness coach. She is known for her autobiographic comics which include ''I was Seven in '75''; ''I Love Led Zepellin''; and ''Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo an ...
(1997), Jim Ottaviani
Jim Ottaviani is an American writer who is the author of several comic books about the history of science. His best-known work, ''Two-Fisted Science: Stories About Scientists'', features biographical stories about Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, N ...
(1997), Gene Yang
Gene Luen Yang (; born August 9, 1973) is an American cartoonist. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions and universities, schools, and libraries. In addition, he was the Director of ...
(1997), Dawn Brown (1998), Jason Little (1998), David Choe
David Choe (born April 22, 1976) is an American artist, musician, actor, and former journalist and podcast host from Los Angeles. Choe's work appears in a wide variety of urban culture and entertainment contexts. He has illustrated and written ...
(1999), Nick Bertozzi
Nick Bertozzi (born May 26, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist, as well as a commercial illustrator and teacher of cartooning. His series ''Rubber Necker'' from Alternative Comics won the 2003 Harvey Awards for best new talent an ...
(1999), Jason Shiga
Jason Shiga (born 1976) is an American cartoonist who incorporates puzzles, mysteries and unconventional narrative techniques into his work.
Early life
Jason Shiga is from Oakland, California. His father, Seiji Shiga, was an animator who worke ...
(1999), Farel Dalrymple (2000), Anders Nilsen (2000), Leland Purvis (2000), Jordan Crane (2001), Brian Ralph
Brian Ralph (born 1973) is an American alternative cartoonist. His illustrations have appeared in ''Wired'' and the ''New York Post''. His debut graphic novel, ''Cave-In'', was nominated for three Harvey Awards, one Eisner Award, and listed as one ...
(2001), Hans Rickheit (2001), Donna Barr
Donna Barr (born August 13, 1952) is an American comic book author and cartoonist. She is best known for '' The Desert Peach'' and '' Stinz''.
Life and education
Donna Barr was born in Everett, Washington, and is the second child of six. She ...
(2002), Derek Kirk Kim
Derek Kirk Kim (born ) is a Korean-American comics artist and filmmaker.
Personal life
Derek Kirk Kim was born in South Korea in , and moved to the United States at age eight. From Pacifica, California, by 2005 he was living in San Francisco. ...
(2002), Sonny Liew
Sonny Liew (born 26 September 1974) is a Malaysia-born comic artist/illustrator based in Singapore. He is best known for '' The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye'' (2015), the first graphic novel to win the Singapore Literature Prize for fiction.
...
(2002), Lauren Weinstein (2002), Josh Neufeld
Josh Neufeld (born August 9, 1967) is an alternative comics, alternative cartoonist known for his comics journalism work on subjects like graphic medicine, equity, and technology; as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Br ...
(2004), Karl Stevens
Karl Stevens (born November 21, 1978) is an American graphic novelist and painter. Best known for '' Penny: A Graphic Memoir'' (2021 Chronicle Books). His comic strips have appeared in the alternative newsweekly the ''Boston Phoenix'' (2005– ...
(2004), Fred Van Lente
Fred Van Lente (born February 14, 1972, in Tacoma, Washington) from Chagrin Falls, Ohio is an American writer, primarily of comic books and graphic novels.
Career
Van Lente is the co-founder, along with artist Ryan Dunlavey, of Evil Twin Com ...
and Ryan Dunlavey (2004), David Heatley (2005), Jeff Lemire
Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the '' Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and '' The Nobody''. His written work ...
(2005), Jesse Moynihan (2006), and Blaise Larmee (2009).
See also
* List of Xeric grant winners
This is a list of cartoonists awarded a grant from the Xeric Foundation, allowing them to self-publish their comics. The awards are broken down by year and grant cycle (March and September). In addition, recent years' awards list the total amount a ...
References
Foundations based in the United States
Comics-related organizations
Comics awards in the United States
1992 establishments in the United States
Arts organizations established in 1992
2012 disestablishments in the United States