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For a distinguished portfolio of editorial cartoons or other illustrated work (still, animated, or both) characterized by political insight, editorial effectiveness, or public service value, Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).

Anand RK and Suparna Sharma, contributors, and Natalie Obiko Pearson of Bloomberg

For “trAPPed,” a riveting account of a neurologist in India held under “digital arrest” by her phone, reporting that uses visuals and words to cast light on the growing global challenges of surveillance and digital scams.

Winning Work

December 4, 2025

If you encounter a paywall, read a PDF of the work here.

Biography

Anand RK is an illustrator and visual artist based in Mumbai, India. He won the Eisner Award, often referred to as the Oscars of the comic book industry, in 2021 for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist along with colorist John Pearson for the graphic novel Blue in Green by Image Comics. A graduate of the prestigious Sir JJ School of Art in 2011, he has also illustrated Grafity's Wall by Dark Horse Comics, Radio Apocalypse by Vault and Resurrection Man by DC Comics. He has been the cover artist for other top comics publishers including Boom! Studios, 2000AD, Tiny Onion and Image Comics. Additionally, he has created work for clients such as Hyundai, The Indian Navy, ImagineFX Magazine, and Heavy Metal Magazine. (His website: https://anandrk.art/)
 

Suparna Sharma is a freelance investigative journalist and editor based in India who has covered crime, conflicts, national disasters and corruption across a three-decade career.

Her 2023 investigation for Al Jazeera into the deaths of two seniors in a fire at a facility in Delhi exposed greed and negligence within India’s multi-billion dollar elder-care industry and a coordinated effort by authorities to bury the truth. She has also written on the reprisals faced by India’s top women wrestlers after accusing the country’s wrestling chief of sexual harassment and on how graduates from India’s elite engineering and business schools have helped political consultancies manipulate voters and elections.

Her articles have appeared in Al Jazeera, Rolling Stone India, BBC Africa, the Indian Express, Frontline and others. Her previous appointments include resident editor of the Asian Age overseeing the daily’s Delhi, Calcutta and London editions, chief subeditor at the country’s largest newspaper Times of India, and a senior correspondent on the Indian Express’ special investigations team. She has also led newsrooms and teams of reporters.

Natalie Obiko Pearson is Bloomberg’s senior investigative reporter for Asia, based in Tokyo Japan. Over the last two decades, she has reported in three languages from 20 countries, covering historic turning points including the rise of Narendra Modi in India, Venezuelan socialism under Hugo Chavez and OPEC at a time of record-high oil prices.

In 2024, Pearson was a co-finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for "America, Global Gun Pusher," a series that revealed how the U.S. government promoted exports of American firearms and aided the spread of gun violence. In 2025, Pearson spearheaded “The Egg,” a year-long investigation into the global market for human oocytes that won a Gerald Loeb award for feature writing. Previously, in 2017, she received a Loeb award for explanatory journalism for “Superbug Profiteers,” a series she initiated while based in India documenting the unregulated use of antibiotics in agriculture that exposes consumers to the planet’s most dangerous superbugs. Other distinctions include the 2009 Knight-Bagehot fellowship at Columbia University and 2021 recipient of the Christopher J. Welles Memorial Prize.

Finalists

Nominated as finalists in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary in 2026:

Adolfo Arranz, Poppy McPherson, Devjyot Ghoshal and Han Huang of Reuters

For “Scammed into Scamming,” an insightful and beautifully rendered visual narrative depicting a multibillion-dollar digital scamming industry staffed with victims of global human trafficking.

Ivan Ehlers, freelancer

For an impressive collection addressing contemporary issues, including economics, climate and immigration, that shows extraordinary range, deft artistry and powerful commentary from an emerging visual journalist.

Peter Kuper, freelancer

For a portfolio of vibrant and wordless political cartoons on the climate crisis, politics and emerging technology rendered with a fresh perspective and a unique approach to visual storytelling.

The Jury

Mariel Garza(Chair)

Co-Founder, CEO and Executive Editor, Golden State, Los Angeles

Susie Cagle

Enterprise Editor, The San Francisco Standard

Alberto Cairo

Knight Chair in Infographics and Data Visualization, University of Miami

Jess Ruliffson

Freelance Graphic Journalist, Boston

Ann Telnaes*

Editorial Cartoonist, Bellingham, Wash.

Winners in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary

Ann Telnaes of The Washington Post

For delivering piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions with deftness, creativity – and a fearlessness that led to her departure from the news organization after 17 years.

2026 Prize Winners

M. Gessen of The New York Times

For an illuminating collection of reported essays on rising authoritarian regimes that draw on history and personal experience to probe timely themes of oppression, belonging and exile.