Hannah McCann’s graphic memoir about abortion rights and folklore in Northern Ireland, St Brigid & Me, has been named the 2025 winner of the UK’s First Graphic Novel Award. Announced at a ceremony in London, the author receives a publishing contract with SelfMadeHero, editorial mentoring to bring the work to completion, and a £500 cheque from The bks literary agency.
Speaking about the work, judge Janette Parris said,
“This is a humorous, well drawn memoir – with the unusual narrative intersecting with religion, feminism and politics – covering the important topic of abortion. The author lends memories of their own involvement in pro-choice rallies while showing the nuances of a sensitive subject.
“I was blown away by the strong visual style and its very strong narrative voice. As folklore, myth and tradition combine, the author’s personal story and fascination with St Brigid lends a universal appeal to the narrative. This deserves to be read. This is excellent.”
Based in Leeds but originally from rural County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, Hannah McCann had been working on St Brigid & Me piecemeal over many years. The idea for the story came to them in an online course run by Laydeez Do Comics (LDC) cofounder Sarah Lightman. In the time since she had sought regular feedback from friends, colleagues, coworkers, and peers at the Footprint Workers Co-op printers (where they worked for 7 years) as well as the Leeds Comics Collective. Her entry into the First Graphic Novel Award was actually an attempt to seek further feedback, with no expectation of winning.
They said,
“This has all already been life changing for me. I submitted to the competition in the hope of receiving some feedback and guidance on how I might improve my writing, structure, style or something else to help with the feeling of cohesion in my project. This is very surprising and welcome feedback. Thank you so much.”
Adding:
“In the rest of the story I aim to highlight and celebrate the amazing and necessary work of grassroots and intersectional organisations on the island of Ireland who fought to bring to an end the criminalisation of abortion healthcare and continue to support those seeking abortions today. I really hope that I can do some justice to their stories and be a part of a movement which banishes shame from those who should never have had to carry it.
“It is also very heart warming to share a love of St. Brigid with so many new people. I’m looking forward to making this work, but I’m also looking forward to reading the work of my fellow shortlisters, longlisters and the super-list. Everyone please keep making art. I am floored to be here with you all.”
Other works that were shortlisted for the award include Lois de Silva‘s ode to the early days of the internet Falling in Love on the Family Computer; Calico N.M.’s Kittish Banter, about a group of queer Muslim housemates figuring out their relationship with faith; Yu-Ching Chiu‘s surreal animal exploration of philosophy A Sleigh No-One Knows; Lauren O’Farrell‘s anthropomorphised graphic memoir about life and death The Frozens; and Lizz Lunney‘s personal graphic essays on loss and memory Forget-Me-Not.
Although St Brigid & Me was picked the winner, it was intimated by SelfMadeHero managing director/founder Emma Hayley that other submissions may be picked up as well. Similar had occurred following the 2023 edition where Anna Trench’s women’s soccer graphic novel Florrie saw publication by Jonathan Cape Graphic Novels in 2025 after making the 2023 short list.
McCann is the second awardee of the new incarnation of the biennual First Graphic Novel Award – which since 2023 has had SelfMadeHero as its publishing partner and remains run by indomitable editor Corinne Pearlman. Alex Taylor‘s Bone Broth was the 2023 winner, and saw publication in October 2025. The Award is open to all who have not previously had longform work professionally published.
This edition of the First Graphic Novel Award had 240 entrants with 220 entries, which indicates a majority of participants were solo cartoonists. According to judges, the majority of the work was memoir followed by contemporary fiction, with some apocalyptic themes. Judge Shazleen Khan expressed a frustration at the lack of genre work in submissions and a desire to see that improve in future competitions.
Judges for the First Graphic Novel Award 2025 included artists, authors and illustrators Shazleen Khan, Oscar Zarate, Janette Parris, Karrie Fransman, and SelfMadeHero managing director/founder Emma Hayley.
