Michael Cavna

Michael Cavna is an American cartoonist and "Comic Riffs" columnist for The Washington Post.

His "Wise Up" cartoon launched the viral #Draw4Atena campaign in 2015 on behalf of jailed Iranian artist Atena Farghadani.

His column has received more than a dozen national awards from the Society for Features Journalism, in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Cavna wrote the Harvey Award-nominated journalism profile for the Eisner Award-nominated book Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's. He was the emcee and co-programmer of the first-ever "Graphic Novel Night" Pavilion at the Library of Congress's 2014 National Book Festival -- a role he continues.

In February 2015, Cavna began a cartoon that was updated monthly to mark the 545-day detention of American-Iranian journalist Jason Rezaian of The Washington Post; the National Press Club (United States) used the cartoon to raise awareness about Rezaian's case.

In April 2016, his "Comic Riffs" column was an Eisner Award finalist for journalism.

In April 2017, his "Comic Riffs" columns received a National Headliner Award for lifestyle writing.

In May 2017, "Comic Riffs" received a second Eisner Award nomination for journalism.