Vancouver cartoonist named finalist for Pulitzer Prize, 2 years after switching professions

A Vancouver woman is still reeling after being named a finalist for one of the most prestigious awards in publishing.

Zoe Si's work has been seen by millions, splashed on the pages of The New Yorker and this week she learned she was up for a Pulitzer Prize for several of her drawings.

It's recognition that Si calls "very, very surreal" after making a big career change during the height of the pandemic.

The 31-year-old graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2013 and was a practicing lawyer up until about two years ago.

That's when she decided to trade the courtrooms for cartooning, as a way of documenting her life.

"I started cartooning to solve problems for myself because life was difficult and drawing cartoons about something…you make yourself laugh," Si told CTV News Vancouver.

"I didn't go into this wanting to become an editorial cartoonist or a journalist, I came into it just having the experience of documenting my life."

But it was a decision that quickly paid off.

"I would process my feelings by drawing about them and The New Yorker kept picking them up," said Si.

The Pulitzer Prize administration describes Si's illustrations as demonstrating "inclusive representation and sharply observed punchlines to capture political realities and daily life during the pandemic."

"It's certainly unexpected, this really wasn't the goal this year at all," said Si.

While she initially didn't plan on drawing as a full-time career, Si said she started taking pen to paper as a way to cope with stress when she was going through law school.

"I started a website where I made a goal to post one drawing every day for a year...my following online just kind of grew organically," she said.

"When I became a lawyer, I kept drawing cartoons about my everyday life…it was just a funny way to blow off steam and people found it quite relatable."

Si said she didn't know editorial cartoonists could win a Pulitzer Prize until 2020, when long-time contributor for The New Yorker Barry Blitt won one.

"When I found that out…I thought OK this will be my 30-year plan," she said. "I can maybe expect this when I'm in my 50s and then of course it happened this year…so it was super overwhelming but very validating."

Si has now set her sights on the future, when she plans to continue drawing cartoons for The New Yorker and illustrating for children's books. She hopes will eventually lead to a book deal.

"The next thing that I'm going to try to do is write a children's book or a graphic novel," she said. "Just continue to find ways to communicate with people and convince people of the legitimacy of cartoons as a serious means of communication."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Nafeesa Karim