Bediako and Du win £1.5k FAB Prize for text and illustration

Afua Bediako and Megan Du were announced as the first place winners of the 2023 FAB Prize for text and illustration. They will be awarded £1,500 each and various opportunities, including a free place on a Faber Academy writing course and a one-year portfolio membership from the Association of Illustrators (AOI).

The FAB Prize celebrates new talent from creatives of colour, and aims to close the gap between "what is currently published and the reality for many families". Faber celebrated the prize at an awards ceremony yesterday evening (14th November), featuring a keynote speech from Christine Pillainayagam, this year’s winner of the Branford Boase Award. 

Bediako won the text prize for her young adult submission, Super Mortals, which the judges said "thrums with energy". Writer and poet Lerah Mae Barcenilla was the runner-up in this category with her "finely crafted" submission The Babaylan Sisterhood. 

Meanwhile, first place illustration winner Du submitted a selection of illustrations, which the judges described as "confident, vibrant, exciting and playful". In second place in the illustration category was Yuxuan Zhou, an illustrator and picture book maker with a fashion design background. 

The winners will also get a place on a publishing insights programme, and will be given the opportunity to shadow established authors and illustrators via BookTrust. Meanwhile, the runners-up for both prizes have also been awarded £500 each.

FAB Prize judge Ama Badu said: "Once again, this year’s prize reminds us that there is so much exceptional talent to be found. We know our winners go on to become instrumental parts of our industry and I can’t wait to see the amazing things this year’s alumni will create."
Leah Thaxton, who was also a judge, added: "It’s always a thrill to dive into the FAB Prize entries and every year we marvel at the range of talent – agents take note! Once again we were so inspired and heartened by what we saw."