We are excited to share our distinguished group of judges for this year’s Illustration West 59! This week meet Charles Kochman. Charles is the Editorial Director of Abrams ComicArts and editor of the #1 bestselling series DIARY OF A WIMPY KID by Jeff Kinney.

For thirty-five years, Kochman has edited several hundred books for all age groups, including award-winning picture books, middle-grade novels, retrospectives, monographs, graphic novels, and art book collections published by Abrams, DC Comics, MAD MAGAZINE, Bantam Books, and Putnam. A member of the National Cartoonists Society, the Society of Illustrators, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Kochman is also a recipient of the Inkpot Award, presented by Comic-Con International for achievement in comics.