Simmonds created multiple comic strips for British newspaper The Guardian, including Posy, Gemma Bovary, and Tamara Drewe, all of which were collected into books. Tamara Drewe was adapted into a feature film directed by Stephen Frears, which was a surprise hit at Cannes in 2010 (see “Euro Comics Head to the Big Screen”). More recently, Simmonds created the graphic novel Cassandra Darke, a modern take loosely based on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Simmonds is the first British artist to be awarded the prestigious award.
Last year’s award winner was French artist Riad Sattouf; the 2022 award went to Canadian artist Julie Doucet (see “Julie Doucet Awarded Grand Prix”).
