Acclaimed comics artist Mollie Ray has been inaugurated as the first Young Comics Laureate at the glittering Opening Night Event of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival this evening, taking on a position complimenting the already well-established Comics Laureate position and designed to be inspiration and a lightning rod for fresh, young comics creators and readers.
Lancashire’s Mollie Ray has already carved herself a path as a unique and distictive voice in UK’s independent comics scene, blasing a trail with their debut graphic novel, GIANT, released in 2024. In this new role – supported financially by the Charlie Adlard Foundation – Mollie hopes to “…[show] how making comics can help young people process their own experiences, spark creativity, and connect with others.” A lofty aspiration indeed.
The Festival – a little bit of a mouthful so it’s known as LICAF or ‘Lakes’ for short – is taking over the picturesque scenery of Bowness-on-Windermere in the UK’s Lakes District this weekend (Friday 26th – Sunday 28th September 2025) and, as is its tradition, several honours have been handed out at their Opening Night Event, including this announcement and also the presentation of the Sergio Aragones International Award for Excellence in Comic Art.
The new UK’s Young Comics Laureate is a role that can only be a force of good to either introduce a new generation to the art form or, for those already know how rad comics are, inspire them to create themselves. We at The Convention Collective wish Mollie all the best and godspeed on this new mission! More info on the announcement and the role of Young Comic Laureate, below…
Mollie Ray to be unveiled as UK’s First-Ever Young Comics Laureate this Friday at Lakes International Comic Art Festival
600+ votes, youth-led selection, and a bold new role putting comics at the heart of young people’s lives
Comics Youth CIC and Comics Youth SCIO are proud to announce that Mollie Ray has been appointed as the UK’s inaugural Young Comics Laureate – a ground-breaking national role designed to champion comics for young people of all ages.
Mollie will be officially unveiled this Friday at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) 2025, following a youth-led process co-designed with the Comics Youth Development Board and a national public vote that drew over 600 participants. This makes the Laureate not only a cultural milestone but also a powerful statement about young people shaping their own future in the arts.
The new role complements the existing UK Comics Laureate, launched by LICAF in 2015 and currently held by Bobby Joseph, extending its impact by giving younger generations a platform to advocate for the power of comics in culture, education, and social change.
This pioneering initiative is made possible thanks to the support of the Charlie Adlard Foundation — founded by Charlie Adlard, acclaimed artist of THE WALKING DEAD. His commitment to empowering the next generation of comics creators and readers ensures the Laureate is a paid, 12-month role with national reach.
About Mollie Ray
Mollie Ray, from Lancashire, is an acclaimed comics artist whose debut graphic novel GIANT (Faber & Faber, 2024) tells the story of a family navigating a teenage boy’s cancer diagnosis — a wordless, emotionally charged work inspired by her younger brother’s illness.
Beyond her own practice, Mollie has led workshops in schools, SEN settings, care systems, and refugee communities, and collaborated internationally, including in Palestine, to help young people tell their stories through comics.
A Laureate for Young People
As Laureate, Mollie will:
- Champion comics as tools for creativity and resilience — showing how they help young people process experiences and imagine new futures.
- Bring comics into classrooms and communities — ensuring access regardless of background or circumstance.
- Celebrate youth voices — spotlighting the role of young people as storytellers, truth-tellers, and cultural changemakers.
Mollie said: “Creating Giant was incredibly healing for me. Through this role, I want to share that power — showing how making comics can help young people process their own experiences, spark creativity, and connect with others.”
Youth Power in Action
The youth-led design and public vote behind the Laureate make it unique among cultural appointments. By entrusting young people to create, shortlist, and select the role’s first holder, Comics Youth has ensured the Laureate reflects their needs and priorities.
Rhiannon Mair Griffiths MBE, Co-Founder of Comics Youth, said:
“This is history in the making. Young people have designed the role, voted for their Laureate, and chosen Mollie to represent them nationally. With more than 600 votes, the message is loud and clear: young people want comics at the heart of culture, and they want their stories heard.”
Julie Tait, Festival Director of LICAF, added:
“Since 2015, the adult Comics Laureate has promoted the power of comics nationally — with Bobby Joseph currently leading that charge. Mollie’s appointment as the first Young Comics Laureate is the perfect complement, ensuring the future of comics is shaped by young people themselves.”
- Comics Youth is online at comicsyouth.co.uk
- Tickets for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival 2025 are on sale here
