Children’s publishing powerhouse Scholastic has launched a contest that will give debut graphic novel writers a chance to be published by the company’s Graphix imprint for young readers.

The contest is open to submissions from unpublished comic artists who are US residents and over the age of 18.

Up to five finalists will be rewarded with a Graphix publishing offer and a US$15,000 advance.

The Graphix editorial team will be searching for creator-driven submissions that exude exceptional art and strong storytelling in all genres, from fantasy to realistic fiction to memoir.

To promote the contest, a Graphix team  including company founder and editorial director David Saylor, senior editor Cassandra Pelham and editor Adam Rau held court at last week’s San Diego Comic-Con on a panel with best-selling Graphix comics creators Jeff Smith (BONE, pictured), Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Sisters) and Ru Xu (NewsPrints).

Graphix will make more stops at additional conventions across the US leading up to the April 1, 2017 submission deadline.

The winning entries will be announced next June. More information on submission guidelines can be found here.