Statement decrying the non-awarding of the Pulitzer Prize for Cartooning.
To the Pulitzer Board.
I write as President, and on behalf, of the Australian Cartoonists Association, to express
solidarity with our American editorial cartoonist colleagues, and to express our disappointment
in the decision by the Pulitzer Prize Board not to award a prize for cartooning this year.
I note that the last year has been epic in the colliding of catastrophes, upheavals and conflicts
both natural and man-made, and cartoonists, in spite of their precarious employment and
challenging circumstances, have risen mightily to capture the moment(s).
In an era when the sharp line and elucidating perspective of cartoonists is more vital than ever to
counter forces of obscurity and suppression of truth, we can ill afford to placate the powers for
whom our silence and invisibility would be convenient. Cartoonists are necessary for a healthy
democracy. Dictators hate us!
We could understand, having seen the work of contenders, that it may have been difficult for
you to choose one over another. Could they have shared the prize? However, to not award a
cartoonist this year suggests not an embarrassment of riches, but that no cartoonist was good
enough.
And we think that is far from the truth.
Yours sincerely,