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 have announced 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 was officially unveiled last 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.”
