Inaugural Klaus Flugge Prize longlist revealed

Fourteen publishers have made the longlist for this year’s inaugural Klaus Flugge Prize for illustrated picture books, with Quarto imprint Frances Lincoln topping the list with three titles.

Andersen Press announced it was launching the prize - an annual award for picture books created by a first-time illustrator and published in the UK – in January. It was created to celebrate the publisher’s 40th birthday this year and was named after the company’s founder, Klaus Flugge.

Twenty books are on this year’s longlist, announced today (20th April), including Frances Lincoln’s The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield (edited by Katie Cotton), which won the Waterstones best illustrated book prize last month, as well as Counting Lions by Stephen Walton (edited by Katie Cotton) and The Crow’s Tale by Naomi Howarth (edited by Janetta Otter-Barry).

Walker Books, Scholastic and Child’s Play have two each on the list. Andersen is also eligible for the award, as it is judged independently, and has one book longlisted.

Chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare said the longlist is “varied and intriguing”, adding: “Information books, myth, funny stories and some extremely thoughtful pieces of storytelling all feature, and the illustrators work in an equally wide range of media and styles. Our panel of expert judges are looking forward to discussing the books and choosing a shortlist.”

The judging panel, comprising of children’s laureate Chris Riddell, illustrator Tony Ross, Professor Martin Salisbury of the Cambridge School of Art, and Books for Keeps editor Ferelith Hordon, will now choose the shortlist, which will be announced 9th June.

The winner will be revealed in September when the illustrator will receive £5,000.

This year’s longlist in full:

Jill and the Dragon by Lesley Barnes, edited by Anna Ridley (Tate Publishing)

Have You Seen Elephant? by David Barrow, edited by Julia Marshall (Gecko Press)

Cinderella’s Sister and the Big Bad Wolf, illustrated by Migy Blanco, with words by Lorraine Carey and edited by Louise Bolongaro (Nosy Crow)

The Jar of Happiness by Ailsa Burrows, edited by Sue Baker (Child’s Play)

Lion Practice by Emma Carlisle, edited by Emily Ford (Macmillan)

The Zoomers’ Handbook illustrated by Thiago De Moraes, with words by Ana de Moraes and edited by Libby Hamilton (Andersen Press)

Too Many Toys by Heidi Deedman, edited by Maria Tunney (Walker Books)

Hector and the Hummingbird by Nicholas John Frith, edited by Alison Green (Scholastic)

The Girl with the Parrot on her Head by Daisy Hirst, edited by Lizzie Sitton (Walker Books)

Ice in the Jungle by Ariane Hofmann-Maniyar edited by Sue Baker (Child’s Play)

The Crow’s Tale by Naomi Howarth, edited by Janetta Otter-Barry, (Quarto Frances Lincoln)

Toby and the Ice Giants by Joe Lillington, edited by Harriet Birkenshaw (Flying Eye Books)

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield, edited by Katie Cotton, (Quarto Frances Lincoln)

Super Happy Magic Forest by Matty Long, edited by Peter Marley (OUP)

Wanted! Ralfy Rabbit Book Burglar by Emily Mackenzie, edited by Emma Blackburn (Bloomsbury)

Dog on a Train by Kate Prendergast, edited by Ruth Huddleston (Old Barn Books)

Lili by Wen Dee Tan, edited by Holly Millbank (Fat Fox)

Counting Lions, illustrated Stephen Walton, with words by Virginia McKenna and Katie Cotton, and edited by Cotton, (Quarto Frances Lincoln)

The Wonder Garden, illustrated by Kristjana S Williams, with words and editing by Jenny Broom (Quarto Wide Eyed)

How to be Dog by Jo Williamson, edited by Pauliina Malinen Teodoro (Scholastic)