The shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize was announced this evening (Tuesday 19 May), LIVE on Twitter and on YouTube.

2020 is the fifth year of the prize, which was set up to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and an extremely influential figure in children’s picture books. It is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration.

From a longlist of sixteen picture books by debut illustrators, the panel of judges comprising award-winning illustrator Mini Grey; Jessica Love, 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize winner; Meera Ghanshamdas, bookseller at Moon Lane Ink; children’s book consultant Jake Hope; and Pam Smy of Anglia Ruskin University, have chosen five titles to shortlist.

KLAUS FLUGGE SHORTLIST

• When Sadness Comes to Call, Eva Eland, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
  What the judges said: ‘beautifully simple and pared back; the page layouts seem sparse and crisp but the work the illustrations are doing is quite extraordinary in terms of the message that sadness is something we might have to live with.’

Eva Eland’s examination of sadness, represented by a misty little monster, simply and unforgettably conveys a sophisticated message in a masterpiece of minimalism.

• The Star in the Forest, Helen Kellock, editor Anna Ridley, designer Aaron Hayden (Thames & Hudson)
  What the judges said: ‘few books these days use light and tone or traditional watercolour skills to tell stories; it’s worked into something quite magical here.’

Helen Kellock uses light and composition to create an atmospheric starry adventure, that glows with family love.

• Where is Your Sister?, Puck Koper, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
  What the judges said: ‘goes at a wonderful pace, with laugh out loud moments. It’s stylish and feels very sophisticated for a first book’.

Using a limited palette, Dutch artist Puck Koper creates a frantic dash through a department store which is both a search and find story, and an accurately observed and very funny family adventure.

• On the Origin of Species, Sabina Radeva, editor Anna Barnes Robinson, designer Keren Greenfeld (Puffin)
  What the judges said: ‘It’s full of detail and really reflects the beauty of nature. A feat of managing that amount of detail without it feeling cluttered. A wonderful reference book, a real companion for a child.’

A one-time molecular biologist, Sabina Radeva utilises her passion for science to retell Darwin’s famous work, mining the depths of inventiveness to convey information through few words and wonderful pictures.

• One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller, Kate Read, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner
  What the judges said: ‘Visually stunning. There’s real drama here and the way the story is told is joyous. She’s done a very clever thing and created a counting book while keeping within the beats of a story.’

Kate Read uses bold colours, composition and collage to tell the story of one famished fox’s encounter with some angry hens, making this counting book a real thriller.

Chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare said: “Our shortlist demonstrates the vibrancy of contemporary illustration for children. Here are five very different books – the illustrators have different styles, use different techniques and have different intentions, but each achieves exactly what they set out to do with pictures that perfectly tell their stories. The Klaus Flugge Prize has already highlighted many talented illustrators and in the fifth year of this important award, we’re delighted to have another extremely strong and eye-catching shortlist.”

The shortlist was due to be announced at a live event at Foyles Charing Cross Road on Tuesday 19^th May. Instead, judge and 2019 winner Jessica Love announced the shortlist live via Twitter and Youtube.

The final winner will be revealed on Wednesday 16^th September 2020 and will receive a cheque for £5,000.

The Klaus Flugge Prize prepares to boosts online activity in the face of Coronavirus as judges and past winners join this year’s shortlisted illustrators in a expanded programme of virtual celebrations.

Zoom roundtables, Twitter livestreams and special video interviews are all part of the increased online activity planned for this year’s Klaus Flugge Prize – to include announcements of both the shortlist (19th May) and the winner (16th September). Now in its fifth year, the Klaus Flugge Prize is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration. It honours Klaus Flugge, founder of publisher Andersen Press and a supremely influential figure in picture books.

“Conversation and debate about contemporary picture book illustration has always been a vital element of the Klaus Flugge Prize”, says chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare, “and live events have been integral to the prize, whether panel events with illustrators and art directors, or the announcement of the shortlist at Foyles. We can’t gather in the same room this year, so instead we will be hugely increasing our programme of virtual activity to enable those conversations and to put children’s picture book illustration in the spotlight.”

Those taking part in the activity include previous Klaus Flugge Prize winners Jessica Love (Julian is a Mermaid 2019), Kate Milner (My Name is Not Refugee 2018), Francesca Sanna (The Journey 2017) and Nicholas John Frith (Hector and Hummingbird, 2016) as well as award-winning illustrator and 2020 judge Mini Grey.

The timetable of activity includes:

• 5^th May – Twitter Livestream with Mini Grey
• 6^th May – publication of a recording of the Livestream
• 12^th May – Zoom Klaus Flugge Prize illustrators roundtable
• 19^th May – Klaus Flugge Prize shortlist announcement at 7.00pm
• 19th June – Zoom Klaus Flugge Prize designers and editors’ roundtable
• 20^th June – 15^th September – interviews, panels, Twitter Livestream Q&As with shortlisted illustrators and leading figures in picture book illustration
• 16^th September – announcement of the winner of the 2020 Klaus Flugge Prize.

The judges for the 2020 prize are award-winning illustrator Mini Grey; Meera Ghanshamdas, bookseller at Moon Lane Ink; children’s book consultant Jake Hope; Pam Smy of Anglia Ruskin University; and 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize winner Jessica Love. The panel will be chaired by Julia Eccleshare, director of the children’s programme of the Hay Festival.

The 2020 Klaus Flugge Prize longlist in full:

• Look Up!, Dapo Adeola, written by Nathan Bryan, editor Joe Marriott, designer Keren Greenfield (Puffin)
• The Mist Monster, Kirsti Beautyman, editor Alison Green, designer Zoë Tucker (Alison Green Books)
• Keith Among the Pigeons, Katie Brosnan, editor Sue Baker, designer Annie Kubler (Child’s Play)
• Caspian Finds a Friend, Merrilees Brown, written by Jacqueline Veissid, editor Victoria Rock, designer Sara Gillingham (Chronicle Books)
• Otto Blotter, Bird Spotter Graham Carter, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
• When Sadness Comes to Call, Eva Eland, editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill (Andersen Press)
• The Girl with Two Dads, Mel Elliott, editor Emma Dods, designer Abi Luffman (Egmont)
• My Hair, Allen Fatimaharan, written by Hannah Lee, editor Alice Swan, designer Emma Eldridge (Faber & Faber)
• The Star in the Forest, Helen Kellock, editor Anna Ridley, designer Aaron Hayden (Thames & Hudson)
• Where is Your Sister?, Puck Koper, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
• The Mole and the Hole, Brayden Kowalczuk, editor Katie Cotton, designer Zoë Tucker (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)
• Incredible Jobs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of, Natalie Labarre, editor Victoria England, designer Holly Phillips (Nosy Crow)
• On the Origin of Species, Sabina Radeva, editor Anna Barnes Robinson, designer Keren Greenfield (Puffin)
• I Saw a Bee, Rob Ramsden, editor Janice Thomson, designer Goldy Broad (Scallywag Press)
• One Fox: A Counting Thriller Book, Kate Read, editor Suzanne Carnell, designer Jo Spooner (Two Hoots)
• Collecting Cats, Lorna Scobie, editors Sophie Cashell & Linas Alsenas, designer Strawberrie Donnelly (Scholastic)

Use @KlausFluggePr  #KFP20

The 2019 prize invited applicants to submit book materials – including cover, storyboard and spread designs – to the theme of ‘Where I Come From’, aimed at pre-school children up to 12 years. This year’s judging panel includes Templar illustrators, Jonny Duddle, Lara Hawthorne, Lucia Gaggiotti and  Frann Preston Gannon. 

THE 2019 FINALISTS ARE:

MARIA COCO for The New Swamp

PAULA WHITE for Bread, Buns and Biscuits

SALLY WALKER for Grandpa’s World

The winning entry will be announced at an awards ceremony at Nomad Books in Fulham on the 18th September 2019.

THE PRIZES 

First Place: £750 and the work will be considered by the Templar team for publication



Second Place: £500

Third Place: £250 

Photos of the presentation will follow in a separate post

The shortlist for the 2019 Klaus Flugge Prize was announced live at an event held at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, London earlier this evening (Wednesday 15th May).

Set up to honour publisher Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and one of the most important and influential figures in children’s picture books, this important award, now in its fourth year, is for the most promising and exciting newcomer to picture book illustration.

From a longlist of twenty picture books by debut illustrators, a panel of judges comprising former Waterstones Children’s Laureate and preeminent illustrator Anthony Browne; Kate Milner, 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize winner; Derek Brazell, of the Association of Illustrators; Seven Stories bookseller Billiejo Carlisle; and Farrah Serroukh, Learning Programme Leader at CLPE (Centre for Literary inPrimary Education), have chosen a shortlist of six.

The shortlist this year is notable for being all female.

The Klaus Flugge Prize 2019 Shortlist

The Extraordinary Gardener – Sam Boughton
(Tate)

Editor Holly Tonks, designer Ness Wood
What the judges said: There’s an exuberance in the artwork; some wonderful spreads and Joe’s urban world is really well done; it has real child appeal

Sam Boughton graduated with a BA in Illustration from Bristol UWE before studying at the Cambridge School of Art where she was awarded a distinction in the MA in Illustration. Shortly after that she won the Ronald Searle Award for Creativity and was Highly Commended for the Macmillan Prize.
Website: http://www.samboughton.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samboughton/

Looking After Daddy – Eve Coy
(Andersen Press)

Editor Libby Hamilton, designer Rebecca Garrill
What the judges said: The images tell their own stories; really good interplay between text and illustration; I smiled all the way through

Eve Coy studied at Edinburgh University and became an artist working for Aardman Animation. She gained in MA in children’s illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eve.coy/

The King Who Banned the Dark – Emily Haworth-Booth
(Pavilion Children’s Books)

Editor Neil Dunnicliffe, designer Lee-May Lim
What the judges said: A great idea and it really makes the most of light and dark; there’s lots of variety in the use of page layout, and lots of surprises; it’s full of energy and humour

Emily Haworth-Booth teaches at the Royal Drawing School in London. Alongside her picture books, Emily is currently working on a long-form graphic memoir for adults. Her short comics have previously appeared in print in the Observer and Vogue.
Website: http://emilyhaworthbooth.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyhaworthbooth/

I Can Fly – Fifi Kuo, editor Leilani Sparrow
(Boxer Books)

Designer David Bennett
What the judges said: A beautiful book; a lovely sense of movement; the story has been done before but she’s transformed it; fantastic drawing skills, every penguin is different

Fifi Kuo trained at the Cambridge School of Art and is Taiwanese. Since graduation she has won Bronze in the Macmillan Prize, been shortlisted for the AOI World Illustration Award and won merit in the iJungle Illustration Awards. She is keen for her picture books to conveya meaningful message.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fifisillustration/

Julian is a Mermaid – Jessica Love
(Walker Books)

Editor Tanya Rosie, art director Deirdre McDermott
What the judges said: It reminded me of Sendak, it’s hard to believe it’s a debut; the illustrations say things that words would struggle to express; delivers an important message without feeling didactic

Jessica Love is an author-illustrator and a New York based actor. She has a BA in studio art from the University of California as well as a graduate degree from The Juilliard School for performing arts. Julian is a Mermaid is also shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.
Website: https://jesslove.format.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesslovedraws/

Red and the City – Marie Voigt
(Oxford)

Editor Peter Marley, designer Kate Adams
What the judges said: The characters are simply drawn but have real personality; there’s a European feel to the artwork; a clever, multi-layered retelling of a well-known story

Marie Voigt was born in former East Berlin and  holds degrees in Media Technology and Marketing and had a successful career in TV, branding and graphic design before realising that making picture books allows her to combine all her passions.
Website: http://www.marievoigt.com

Other books longlisted for the Prize were:

• The Long Island, Drew Beckmeyer, editor Taylor Norman, designer Kristine Brogno (Chronicle Books)
• Mini Rabbit Not Lost, John Bond, editor Alice Blacker, designer Goldy Broad (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
• The Ink House, Rory Dobner, editor Jo Lightfoot and Katherine Pitt, designer Mariana Sameiro, (Laurence King)
• Cycle City, Alison Farrell, editor Taylor Norman, designer Ryan Hayes (Chronicle Books)
• Erik the Lone Wolf, Sarah Finan, editor Jenny Broom, designer Zoë Tucker (Lincoln Children’s Books)
• Maybe the Moon, Frances Ives, editor Jocelyn Norbury, designer Jack Clucas (LOM Art)
• Say Hi to Hedgehogs, Jane McGuiness, editor Becky Watson, designer Beth Aves (Walker Books)
• You’re Safe with Me, Poonam Mistry, written by Chitra Soundar, editor Alice Curry (Lantana Publishing)
• The Red Dread, Tom Morgan-Jones, editor Emma Hargarve, designer Julie-Ann Murray (Barrington Stoke)
• The Story of Tantrum O’Furrily, Mark Nicholas, written by Cressida Cowell, editor Anne McNeil (Hodder Children’s Books)
• The Buildings that Made London, Josie Shenoy, editor Saskia Gwinn, designer Sophie Gordon (Bloomsbury)
• I Love You Bunny, Alina Surnaite, editor Katie Cotto, designer Mike Jolley and Karissa Santos (Lincoln Children’s Books)
• The Wardrobe Monster, Bryony Thomson, editor Ruth Huddleston, designer Mike Jolley (Old Barn Books)
• The Best Sound in the World, Cindy Wume, editor Katie Cotton, designer Zoë Tucker (Lincoln Children’s Books)

Freelance illustrator Emma Chadwick has been revealed as the winner of the inaugural Templar Illustration Competition. … The Bookseller reports:

Templar launched the competition in December to mark its 40th anniversary and asked entrants to submit materials on a dragon-related theme. Submissions could be either fiction or non-fiction and aimed at pre-school children up to 12-years-old.

Chadwick won the prize with her entry entitled ‘Douglas in the Land of Faraway’, which is about a dragon called Douglas who longs to visit the magical lands he reads about in his stories.

…

Chadwick was presented with her £750 prize at [a] party to celebrate Templar’s 40th birthday.

Student Brittany E Lakin came in second place with ‘The Dragon that Swallowed the Moon’ and retail assistant, Ann MacLeod, came in third with ‘Danni and the Dragons’.

The Carmelite Pircture Book Prize 2018 (established in 2016 and organised by Hachette Children’s Group) has been won by Riko Sekiguchi.

For this year’s prize, students of illustration were asked to create two colour spreads for Peter Bently’s Where the Sea Meets the Sky, a rhyming story about a sea otter.

Sophie Stericker, group creative director at HCG, told The Bookseller: “We had a huge number of outstanding entries this year, so many of which showed originality and advanced visual storytelling skill. Choosing a winner was extremely difficult but Riko’s work showed such energy and spirit the judges were unanimous.”

Sekiguchi, a student at Falmouth University, receives £1,000 and Hodder Children’s Books, an imprint of HCG, will give consideration publishing her work with Bently’s text.

The second prize (of £500) was won by Andy Ellis from Norwich University of the Arts and Robin Mommers from Leeds Arts University won the third prize of £250.
Luke Broadley from Norwich University of the Arts and Pui Jo Ng from University of Hertfordshire were both highly commended.

The work of the first Carmelite Prize winner, Mark Nicholas, (illustrations for The Story of Tantrum O’Furrily written by Cressida Cowell) has just been published, and Free-range Freddy by Rachel Bright, illustrated by last year’s winner, Isobel Evans, will be published next year.

More information about the prize >>> https://carmeliteprize.co.uk