Diamond Teams with Center for Cartoon Studies for ‘Diamond in the Rough’ Scholarship

In a move designed to help discover tomorrow’s top comic book creators, Diamond is teaming with The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) for the Diamond in the Rough Scholarship, providing one year of free tuition to the Center to one highly skilled applicant! Additionally, Diamond and the Center are asking retailers to help up-and-coming artists realize their dreams by nominating them for the scholarship!

With an official announcement scheduled for this weekend’s Comic-Con International: San Diego, the Diamond in the Rough Scholarship gives aspiring cartoonists the chance to earn a full, one-year CSS tuition scholarship -- worth $15,000 -- beginning in the fall of 2007. To apply, interested parties should visit the “Diamond in the Rough Scholarship” page of the CSS’s website at http://cartoonstudies.org/diamondscholarship/, read the information available there, then download and complete the “Diamond in the Rough Scholarship” application form, available as an Adobe Reader file (.PDF format) at http://cartoonstudies.org/diamondscholarship/diamond_scholarship_application.pdf. Applicants will also need to submit an essay entitled “Why Cartooning is for Me,” and a four-page comic story starring the applicant, a snowman, a robot and a piece of fruit. (Please Note: Refer to the Center’s “Diamond in the Rough Scholarship” webpage for complete details on submission formats.) All entries must be received by February 1, 2007, with the winner being announced on March 1.

In September, all Diamond customers will receive a Diamond in the Rough Scholarship packet containing details about the scholarship, CSS brochures and postcards to hand out to interested consumers. If you know anyone who could benefit from a year of training, please alert them to this exceptional opportunity!

The Center for Cartoon Studies has been funded by a diverse cross section of the comics community, including Diamond President and CEO Steve Geppi, Jean Schulz, Art Spiegelman, Peter Laird, Jim Lee, Jeff Smith, Todd McFarlane, Mort Walker and Chris Ware. Located in White River Junction, VT, it’s been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Farmer’s Almanac, The Washington Post and more, and has quickly become one of the industry’s most respected institutions.

To learn more about The Center for Cartoon Studies, visit its website at www.cartoonstudies.org, then encourage the aspiring creators at your store to take advantage of the first Diamond in the Rough Scholarship with your nomination packet, arriving this September!