Forest Hills — Anthony Wells said she spent “a good chunk of my summer” on her graphic novel, “Yaobikuni / 800 Year Old Nun.”
And it has paid off.
The Forest Hills Northern High junior won Kent District Library’s inaugural Write Michigan teen graphic novel competition. Open to students ages 11–17 living in Kent County, the contest drew 61 submissions.
Anthony’s submission was announced the winner in the fall, and the top 10 finalists were published in a printed anthology available for checkout.
She said the win came as a surprise, as she expected some of her friends — whose work she admires and who had also entered the competition — to take the top spots.
“A friend texted me about the fact that I had won,” Anthony recalled. “It was a very surreal moment that I had won.”
Art is Her Passion
“I have been doodling for as long as I can remember,” said Anthony, who added that she started taking art classes at a young age. “So I have been honing my skills for some time.”
She said she enjoys Japanese comic books and graphic novels, referred to as manga, and gravitates to the artistic side of the storytelling. But her favorite is the Scott Pilgrim series written by Canadian author Bryan Lee O’Malley.
Anthony said her families are regulars at the Amy Van Andel Branch and her father saw the competition and recommended she consider it.
“It was convenient because it was over the summer,” Anthony said, noting that the deadline for submissions was Aug. 31, 2025. “It gave me something to work on over the summer; plus, because it was summer, I had the time to work on a bigger project.”
She decided to do a retelling of the Japanese tale “Yaobikuni,” a story about a woman who accidentally eats the flesh of a mermaid and is granted eternal youth.
“Of course, she had no knowledge until it was too late that the mermaid’s flesh would leave her unable to age or die,” writes Anthony in her story.
“I have always been inspired by marine life,” Anthony said. “The folk legend came to mind because of the mermaid.”
Anthony also said the story was a good fit for competition requirements, including the eight-page limit, and allowed her to focus on the graphic novel’s art.
Although Anthony’s work typically focuses on digital art — original computer-generated pieces were accepted at the KDL competition — she chose to hand-draw the eight-page story, a decision that proved challenging.
The entire piece took 20-30 hours to complete, she said.
Excerpt from “Yaobikuni / 800 Year Old Nun,” a graphic novel by Anthony Wells
“Despite her relatively pure intentions, she was never allowed to rest.
“For 800 years, she watched the world age and subsequently die around her.
“The consequences of this action weighed heavily on her, and she became a nun.
“The rest of her time was spent praying for release from her curse.”
The eight-page story is accompanied by sepia-tone drawings by Anthony of the young girl protagonist eating the ‘fish’ piece.
On to the Next Chapter
The win has inspired Anthony to consider entering other competitions and to become more involved in the community to gain experience in the art field, she said.
Art is something she hopes to pursue as a career. In fact, she completed a small mural as part of the Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts Project Storm Drain Initiative. The piece is located near the Real Seafood Company at Monroe Avenue and Lyon Street.
For winning the KDL Write Michigan Graphic Novel contest, Anthony received a $100 Meijer gift card along with her work being published.
Runners-up, who received a $50 gift card and also were published, were Forest Hills Central’s Jordan Fletcher; Caledonia’s Amy Kozlowski (author name Crowbar Jones); Forest Hills Northern’s Jesse Liu and Grandville’s Meaghan Tieri (author name Sullivan Tieri).
Published finalists were Kentwood’s Kailey and Evangeline Robarge; West Michigan Aviation Academy’s Fiona McKendrick; Byron Center’s Rosalia Feldpausch; homeschooler Vee Blackmer and Acellus Academy’s Cooper Huismann.
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