Dragoslavic wins Stratford Salariya Children’s Picture Book Prize

Katarina Dragoslavic has won the 2022 Stratford Salariya Children’s Picture Book Prize for her book The Little Hungry Dinosaur.

Established in 2016 by Stratford Literary Festival and the Salariya Book Company, the annual £1,000 book prize is open to unpublished and unrepresented authors and illustrators for a picture book suitable for children up to five years. The prize includes career advice from a leading literary agent, publicity through Stratford Literary Festival and the possibility of publication by Salariya.

The panel also awarded highly commended to two submissions by Alison Bourke with Jerome Haupert, and Becki Harper.

Dragoslavic’s book tells the story of what happens when a friendly but ravenous dinosaur visits Emil and Klara’s restaurant – and how "all hands on deck" are required to satisfy his appetite. 

The judging panel included Annie Ashworth, director of Stratford Literary Festival, David Salariya, founder and m.d. of the Salariya Book Company and Jodie Hodges, literary agent for children’s books at United Agents.

Dragoslavic is an illustrator and graphic designer based in London. Before moving to London, she studied graphic design in Croatia followed by fine art in Italy. She is currently studying the children’s book illustration MA degree course at the Cambridge School of Art.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have won this year’s prize, and am grateful to the judges for choosing The Little Hungry Dinosaur as their 2022 winner," she said. “The Stratford Salariya Picture Book Prize is recognised as a real catalyst in early-stage careers and I am honoured to be joining the list of previous winners.”

Salariya said: “We were impressed, once more, with the high quality of the submissions to this year’s competition, but the imagination, skill and infectious sense of fun on display in Katarina’s story make it a worthy overall winner. We would like to thank everyone who entered and congratulate Katarina and all of the authors and illustrators represented on the shortlist.”