V&A Announces 2023 Illustration Awards Shortlist

Now in its 50th year, the V&A has established itself as a leading distinction in the field of illustration. This year’s awards cover work published in 2020 and 2021, with a record number of over 1,440 entries competing for prizes of up to £8,000.

Divided into four categories, the shortlists include work submitted for Book Covers, Book Illustration, Illustrated Journalism, and Student Illustrator of the Year. The winners in each category will receive £3,000, while the runner-up will receive £2,000. The overall winner of the 2023 V&A Illustration Awards will also receive the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year award, an additional £5,000 plus entry for their work into the V&A.

And for hopeful artists wondering if their work will come out on top, there’s not long to wait. The 2023 winners will be selected by a jury of illustrators Dapo Adeola, Ann Kiernan, Axel Scheffler and Posy Simmonds, chaired by V&A Director Tristram Hunt. The winners and winning student, runner-up and highly recommended entries will be featured in an exhibition of digital prints at the V&A South Kensington Galleries open to the public on 20 July.

Creative Boom readers will likely recognize some of the names on the shortlists, with Neil Packer’s book One Of A Kind and Pearl’s Daughters by Chenyue Yuan both having appeared on the site before. Have fun browsing through the full list of shortlisted artists below, and good luck to everyone in the running for an award.

Limited book cover price list

• Owen Davey: Curious About Crocodiles by Owen Davey. Published by Flying Eye, 2021
• Sally Dunne: Agatha Christie’s Crooked House. Published by Folio Society, 2021
• Daniel Dzonu-Clarke: The dancing face of Mike Phillips. Published by Penguin, 2021
• Lela Harris: Alice Walker’s Color Violet. Published by Folio Society, 2021
• Kerry Hyndman: The Wealthy House of Stella Gibbons. Published by Penguin, 2021
• Joe McLaren: The Way Beneath Our Feet by Graham B. Usher. Published by SPCK, 2020

Book Illustration Award Shortlist

• Gérard DuBois: The Road of Cormac McCarthy. Published by Folio Society, 2021
• Luisa Jung: Brain Fables: The Hidden History of Neurodegenerative Diseases and a Plan to Conquer Them by Alberto Espay and Benjamin Stecher. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020
• Kate Leiper: The Queen of Birds by Karine Polwart. Published by Folio Birlinn Books, 2021
• Georgie McAusland: Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti. Published by Batsford Books, 2021
• Laura Merz: 1001 Creatures by Aino Järvinen. Published by Restless Books, 2020
• Chris Ofili: Greek Myths by Charlotte Higgins. Published by Jonathan Cap, 2021
• Neil Packer: One of a kind by Neil Packer. Published by Walker Studio, 2020
• Hannah Peck: Kate on the Case by Hannah Peck. Published by Piccadilly Press, 2021
• Jenny Robins: Cookies (assorted) by Jenny Robins. Published by Myriad Editions, 2020
• Natsko Seki: Broadway Market: A celebration of multicultural independent shopping in London. Published by Design for Today, 2020

Illustrated Journalism Award Shortlist

• James Albon: ‘Tiktok’ by La ZEP, in Liberation, 2021
• Ben Jones: “Behind the Scenes,” in History Today Magazine, 2020
• Jennifer NR Smith: ‘The Gender Pain Gap’ by Elinor Cleghorn, in BBC History Magazine, 2021
• Mark Smith: ‘She Has a Name’ by Louise Farr, in Alta Journal, 2021
• Alexis Tsegba: ‘The price of having black hair in a white world’ by Tamara Gilkes Borr, in The Economist, 2021

Student Illustrator of the Year 2023 Shortlist

• Jessica Ciccolone, Five Puffins in Antarctica. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)
• Sarah Edge, My Cancer Scars maps the pain of animals held in research labs. Falmouth University Klara Bianka Gryglicka, My Summer | Visual diary. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)
• Amy Hunter, Sea Fever. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)
• Jiatong Liu, Blue Things. Kingston University
• Leo Loviero, “on hold”. University of the Creative Arts (Farnham)
• Sara Parodi, how many times? Falmouth University
• Billy Partridge, Jabberwocky. Leeds University of the Arts
• Kate Rolfe, Navigating Dyslexia. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)
• Amy Sutton, The Falmouth Chip Eaters. Falmouth University
• Yehyeon Yu, my answer sheet. Kingston University
• Chenyue Yuan, Pearl’s daughters. royal college of art

Want to keep up to date with the winners of the 2023 V&A Illustration Awards? Bookmark the rewards page and don’t forget to check.