2023 Cartoon of the Year finalists

Aug. 24, 2023

National Scholastic Press Association announces the finalists in its 2023 Cartoon of the Year competition.

Individual Award winners will be announced at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention, in Boston, at the 3:30 p.m. awards ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 4. 

A gallery of winners will be posted after the Nov. 4 announcement.

Finalists below are listed by state.

Convention website

3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, awards ceremony
Winners announced —
Individual Awards
Broadcast Pacemaker
Newspaper/Newsmagazine Pacemaker
Specialty Magazine Pacemaker
Best of Show

Best of Show
Schools and students attending the convention are eligible. Categories, rules and entry deadlines will be announced on the convention site.

Spring Pacemakers
Pacemakers in Innovation, Literary Arts Magazine, Online and Yearbook will be presented at the Kansas City, Missouri, convention, April 4-6, 2024.


Comic Strip/Panel

Sonia Verma
El Estoque, Monta Vista High School, Cupertino, California
Catadors #2: The Secret to Happiness

Calla McBride
The Redwood Bark, Redwood High School, Larkspur, California
Bluewood: Wellness is busy this October

Calla McBride
The Redwood Bark, Redwood High School, Larkspur, California
Bluewood: Senior to-do list

Grace Ngo
Bear Witness, Branham High School, San Jose, California
Anxiety.

Julius Boxer-Cooper, Luke Fedorchak
The Augur Bit, Georgetown Day School, Washington, District of Columbia
Limited Shrimp’s First Day on the Job

Caroline Daniels
The Harbinger, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village, Kansas
Hazards of Tanning

Michaela Manfull
North Star, Francis Howell North High School, St. Charles, Missouri
Welcome To High School — First Day v. Last Day

Alice Xu
The Review, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas
Freeda of the Press

Shelby Townsend
Kingwood Park Times, Kingwood Park High School, Kingwood, Texas
Headphone struggles

Anna Haley
Tiger Times, Texas High School, Texarkana, Texas
One Week in Texas

Editorial Cartoon

Andrew Shu
Scot Scoop, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California
The not-so-impossible reality of shooting forecasts

Shiyo Ohashi
Scot Scoop, Carlmont High School, Belmont, California
Bleeding Red, White and Blue

Brynne Barnard-Bahn
The Octagon, Sacramento Country Day School, Sacramento, California
Tampon Tampering

Connie Erdozain
The Southerner, Midtown High School, Atlanta, Georgia
Current school safety policies not effective as violence deterrent

Iris Libson, Lainey Maniak
Zephyrus, Edina High School, Edina, Minnesota
A furry problem: How Republicans weaponize their lies to hide their own prejudice

Charlotte Baxter
Tribal Tribune, Wando High School, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Critical Redaction Theory

Evie Barnard
The Shield, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
A Band-Aid for a bullet wound

Nate Williams
The Shield, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Only vouching for Austin’s rich

Evie Barnard
The Shield, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
All hope is not lost

JoJo Barnard
The Shield, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
Breaking the silence