Nnedi Okorafor is the winner of the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album (Reprint) for her Africanfuturist comic book about alien immigrants on earth titled LaGuardia. Okorafor emerged winner from a nominee list of six. She shares the award with illustrators Tana Ford and James Devlin.

First awarded in 1988, the Eisner Award, commonly referred to as the comic Industry’s Oscars, is named in honor of writer and artist Will Eisner and is annually conferred for “creative achievements in American comic books.”

Nominees in each category are determined by a five-six member jury, with the winners decided through a ballot system by professionals in the comic industry.

Okorafor shared the news on Instagram with a brief note on what LaGuardia is about:

What’s LAGUARDIA about? African and alien immigrants living in an apartment building in Brooklyn, NY. The story begins when Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka smuggles an extraterrestrial without a passport from Nigeria through the LaGuardia International and Interstellar Airport. #Africanfuturism 👽🇳🇬🇺🇸🌍

She also gave a shout out to individuals who played key roles in the book’s creation:

I want to thank my @darkhorsecomics editor, the legendary Karen Berger. True Story: It was her idea to put the protest in the story on the cover. Both Tana and I were nervous about that, but Karen knew. Tana, James Devlin, the entire Dark Horse team, we created something very special.

Brittle Paper congratulates Nnedi Okorafor!