World Literary Awards

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Robyn Brooke Smith

ロビン・ブルック・スミス

Robyn Brooke Smith

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Kingston, Jamaica
Nationality
Jamaican
Languages
English
Residence History
Kingston, Jamaica → The Bronx, New York, United States → Vermont (studied at the Center for Cartoon Studies), United States

Career

Occupations
cartoonist, illustrator, writer
Active Years
2016-
Influenced By
Her father (portrait artist), Archie Digest, Family's immigration experience (move to the Bronx)

Education

Hampshire College
Degree: BA
Country: United States
Bachelor's degree (year unknown)
Center for Cartoon Studies
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
MFA program; developed debut comic as a mini-thesis project

Awards

The Comics Journal Best Short Form Comics
2016
Work: The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town
Organization: The Comics Journal
Result: 受賞
DiNKy Award for Best Floppy Comic
2019
Work: Wash Day
Category: Best Floppy Comic
Organization: DiNKy Award
Result: 受賞
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Emerging Talent Award
2021
Category: Emerging Talent
Organization: Cartoon Crossroads Columbus
Result: 受賞
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics
2023
Work: Wash Day Diaries
Category: Graphic Novel/Comics
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
Ignatz Award for Outstanding Story
2023
Work: Wash Day Diaries
Category: Outstanding Story
Organization: Ignatz Award
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town

2016 Comics / Memoir

A memoir-style comic about the author's experience as one of the few Black people in a rural Vermont town and how that time affected her mental health and sense of Black identity.

Black identitymental healthalienation

Wash Day

2018 Comics / Short form

Illustrated short comic written by Jamila Rowser that celebrates Black women's hair care rituals, friendship, and culture.

hair carefemale friendshipculture and self-expression

Nubia: Real One

2021 Comics / Superhero

Illustrated the DC Comics story written by L.L. McKinney about Nubia, a young Black female superhero.

superheroismBlackness and powercoming of age

Wash Day Diaries

2022 Graphic novel

A collaborative graphic novel with Jamila Rowser that follows interconnected stories of Black women, centering hair care rituals as shared cultural experience and friendship.

communityhair culturefriendship

Bibliography

  • The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town (2016)
  • Wash Day (2018) - illustrator
  • Nubia: Real One (2021) - illustrator
  • Wash Day Diaries (2022) - illustrator

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic, slice-of-life comic expressionclear, approachable linework and colormemoir-like, reflective approach
Recurring Motifs
hair care and hair routinesBlack identityfemale friendship and communitycoming of age and mental health

Legacy

Robyn Smith has helped visualize Black women's experiences and hair culture through comics, contributing to diversity in the graphic novel field. She has won multiple awards and is recognized as a notable emerging cartoonist and illustrator.

Trivia

  • Her father was a portrait artist and her mother a makeup artist, exposing her to art from an early age.
  • Her family moved to the Bronx when she was 16 after finishing high school.
  • Her debut book, The Saddest Angriest Black Girl In Town, was first published in 2016 and reprinted by Black Josei Press in 2021.
  • She won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Graphic Novel/Comics) and an Ignatz Award for Wash Day Diaries.