the new yorker's eustace tilley contest 2012

For the fifth year now, The New Yorker has solicited readers’ takes on Eustace Tilley,the magazine’s mascot, and, for the fifth year running, I am among the winners. Tilley, a Regency dandy, is the creation of art editor Rea Irvin and has been on the cover of almost every anniversary issue — including this year’s — since his first appearance, on the début issue, in 1925.

Here is a slideshow of this year's winners, including mine, on the New Yorker's website.

Culture Desk: a cover story about this year's contest.

My winning images from 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008.

Just as last year, one Grand Prize Winner will be selected from among the winning entries to be printed on a book bag from Strand Bookstore of New York. Stay tuned for updates, and wish me luck!

the new yorker's eustace tilley contest 2011

My piece won:

For the fourth year now, The New Yorker has solicited readers’ takes on Eustace Tilley, the magazine’s mascot. Tilley, the Regency dandy, is the creation of art editor Rea Irvin and has been on the cover of almost every anniversary issue—including this year’s—since his first appearance, on the début issue, in 1925.

Twelve winners were selected from over 600 entries. You can see a slide show of all twelve, including mine, on The New Yorker's website here.

This is the fourth year I've won. Here are my winning images from 2010, 2009, and 2008. You can also see slide shows of all past winners on The New Yorker's site.

This year, for a twist, a Grand Prize winner will be selected from among the twelve and will have their winning image made into a Strand Bookstore tote bag. The Grand Prize winner will be announced in the Spring, when the bag is ready. Wish me luck!

UPDATE: The Grand Prize Winner has been chosen and the winning tote bag can be seen at the Strand Bookstore. Congrats to Michael Clayton.

the new yorker's eustace tilley contest 2010

My piece won:

This is the third year the New Yorker has invited the public to submit their own takes on the magazine's iconic mascot, Eustace Tilley, originally drawn by Rea Irvin for the magazine's first cover in 1925.

12 winners were chosen from over 300 submissions. You can see a slideshow of all 12 on the New Yorker's website here.

This is also the third year that I've won. One of my pieces won in 2009 and two won in 2008. You can see all of the winners from the past couple of years at the New Yorker site as well.

Special congrats to Claire B. Cotts and Marcus Thiele, also among this year's winners.

the new yorker's eustace tilley contest 2009

My piece won:

This is the second year the New Yorker has invited the public to submit their own interpretations of the magazine's iconic mascot, Eustace Tilley, originally drawn by Rea Irvin for the magazine's first cover in 1925.

12 winners were chosen from over 300 submissions. You can see a slideshow of all 12 on the New Yorker's website here

My piece also appears, along with three others, in the current issue of the New Yorker on the stands now.

Two of my pieces won last year too. You can see those along with the rest of the 2008 winners at the New Yorker site as well.

the new yorker's eustace tilley competition

Two of my pieces won:


The New Yorker recently ran a contest inviting the public to submit their own interpretations of the magazine's iconic mascot, Eustace Tilley. The original was drawn by Rea Irvin and graced the magazine's first cover in 1925, and the monocled dandy has appeared in some form or another on most every anniversary issue cover since.

20 winners were chosen from a pool of almost 300 entries. You can see all 20, including both of my submissions on the New Yorker's web site here.

Check out the contest page on Flickr to see all of the entries. There were many very clever ones and I don't envy the judges.

You can listen to an interview with the magazine's art director, Francoise Mouly, in which she discusses the contest, the history of the character, and mentions my "blowing bubbles" piece here.

You can also see my entry "The Springfieldian," - a collaboration with Claire B. Cotts who came up with the basic premise - in The New Yorker magazine itself along with a few of the other winners in the current anniversary issue (Feb. 11th & 18th). So check it out!

All apologies to Matt Groening and the good people at Gracie Films.