V&A Illustration Awards 2018 Opens

By John Freeman on November 1, 2017

The V&A Illustrations Awards 2018 – the UK’s most prestigious annual illustration competition – has just opened.

Now’s the time for illustrators to enter for the chance to win up to £8,000 – and join an illustrious list of past winners such as Ralph Steadman, Posy Simmonds, Sara Fanelli, Yasmeen Ismail and Quentin Blake.

The V&A Illustration Awards, which have been running since 1972, is the UK’s most prestigious annual illustration competition recognising the very best in book, editorial and student illustration. They have included a student category since 2005. Each year, the winning books are added to the holdings of the National Art Library and can be accessed in the Library’s Reading Rooms.

Entry to the V&A Illustration Awards is free and takes place via the online entry form only; the categories are Book Cover Design,
Book Illustration and Editorial Illustration (newspapers and magazines).

2017 Editorial Illustration Award and Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year, A. Richard Allen – ‘Trump Wave’, in The Sunday Telegraph Money

The winner in each category receives £3,000 and a trophy. The judges will also select an overall winner to receive the 2018 Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the year prize and an additional £5000.

Winners may also be commissioned to produce publicity artwork for the Museum.

The winner of the Student Illustrator of the Year Prize will receive £3,000 and a trophy. The Student Runner-Up will receive £2,000 and a trophy.

2017 Student Illustrator of the Year, Beatriz Lostalé Seijo, ‘The Odyssey’, MA Children’s Book Illustration, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge School of Art

The closing date for submissions is Monday 18th December 2017 at 1700 and the winning works will be shown at the V&A in a public display opening on 16 May 2018.

The Awards are supported by the Enid Linder Foundation, with further financial support from Edwin Davies CBE, the Sackler Trust, the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts and the Headley Trust.

• To find out more and how to enter visit this page | #IllustrationAwards | Submit your entry here

• Find out more on the V&A Illustration Awards blog and explore the V&A Illustration collections

• The 2017 winners are here

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.