Today is a great day not only for the celebration and promotion of picture book illustration, as the shortlist for the inaugural Klaus Flugge Prize is announced. Set up to honour publisher Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and a key figure in children’s picture books, this important new award is for the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration.
From a longlist of twenty picture books by debut illustrators an expert panel of judges comprising Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell; Tony Ross, the UK’s biggest selling children’s illustrator;Professor Martin Salisbury of the Cambridge School of Art; and Ferelith Hordon, editor of Books for Keeps and IBBYLink, selected a shortlist of six.
The six books are:
Too Many Toys by Heidi Deedman (Walker Books)
Hector and the Hummingbird by Nicholas John Frith (Alison Green Books )
The Girl with the Parrot on her Head by Daisy Hirst (Walker Books)
Toby and the Ice Giants by Joe Lillington (Flying Eye Books)
Lili by Wen Dee Tan (Fat Fox)
Counting Lions by Stephen Walton, written by Katie Cotton (Frances Lincoln Children’s Books)
An eclectic list, both in style and in subject matter, which showcases how varied styles of illustration can be found in the picture book format nowadays, and highlights how seriously we should take picture book illustration.
The winner will be announced in September.
