BD Zoom 2021 Award: 700 students vote for the three finalists

The eagerly awaited BD Zoom Award livened up the year again for nearly 50 secondary school pupils in the canton of Geneva. The aim was the same in this sixth year of the awards: to spark and develop an interest in reading while promoting the energy and diversity of Swiss comic books.

As in previous years, dozens of meetings between authors and pupils were highlights of the sixth annual awards, despite the health situation of recent months. Each visit was a chance for active discussion on themes tackled in the different comic books.

The BD Zoom Award is also an opportunity for pupils to (re)discover the unique language of comic books, and to address topical social issues such as the life of young people in deprived areas, and social anxiety.

After these meetings and a look at the books, the pupils selected their top three comics, with the winner to be chosen by a final pupil vote on 30 April 2021.

The three finalists are:

– Peggy Adam for Les salles gosses, éditions Atrabile

– Marina K for Je suis grosse, éditions Antipodes

– Fanny Vaucher and Prix Burnand for Le siècle d’Emma, éditions Antipodes

Partners for 6 years

The BD Zoom Award is the result of an innovative partnership between the Department of Public Education, Training and Youth and the BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation, a founding partner, which gave its backing for two three-year periods, so a total of six years. This collaboration dovetails with the Foundation’s other work to foster accessible culture for all and education in Switzerland. With a prize of CHF 10,000, the BD Zoom Award gives broad visibility to the selected authors as well as to our region’s publishers. It shines a spotlight on a vibrant local comic book scene and supplements efforts to support reading in the Canton of Geneva. It is one of the 165 ongoing traditions that embody the intangible cultural heritage of Switzerland, continuing the tradition of illustration, comics and poster art in Geneva.