Walker strong on Klaus Flugge Prize longlist

The organisers of the www.thebookseller.com/news/andersen-press-launches-illustrator-award-320804">Klaus Flugge Prize for newcomers in children’s book illustration have longlisted 15 artists for this year’s award, including three who have books out with Walker.

Walker has more books than any other publisher on the longlist, but Templar and Flying Eye have two each. Bloomsbury, Thames & Hudson and Child’s Play are also amongst those represented.

The prize is open to illustrators whose books are published in the UK but the artists themselves are from countries including the US, South Africa, Japan Russia and Bulgaria.

“We are very pleased that this year’s Klaus Flugge Prize attracted the highest number of entries yet and delighted to be putting these fifteen highly talented illustrators into the spotlight,” said chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare. “From dragons to paper boats, a public swimming pool to Mars, the range of subjects and settings is hugely varied; techniques used to tell the different stories on our longlist range too from watercolour, lino-cut and two-colour screen printing to collage and skilful use of Photoshop.”

Andersen Press launched the Klaus Flugge Prize, named after its founder, to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary in 2016. It is administered by Eccleshare along with Authors Aloud co-founder Anne Marley and Oxford Literary Festival programmer Andrea Reece, and will be judged by this year by a team that includes children’s laureate Lauren Child.

Last year the winner was Francesca Sanna for her book The Journey (Flying Eye).

This year’s shortlist will be announced on 16th May at an event at Foyles Charing Cross Road and the winner will be revealed on 12th September.

The longlist in full:

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall (Walker)

Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann (Flying Eye)

Cranky Caterpillar by Richard Graham (Thames & Hudson)

Beyond the Fence by Maria Gulemetova (Child’s Plays)

Woolf by Patrick Latimer, written by Alex Latimer (Pavilion)

The Night Box by Ashling Lindsay, written by Louise Greig (Egmont)

My Name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner (Barrington Stoke)

Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum (Walker Studio)

Hortense and the Shadow by Lauren O’Hara, written by Natalia O’Hara (Puffin)

The Real Boat by Victoria Semykina, written by Marina Aromshtam (Templar)

Fergal is Fuming by Robert Starling (Andersen Press)

Big Hid by Roisin Swales (Flying Eye)

Magnificent Birds by Narisa Togo (Walker Studio)

Big Box, Little Box by Edward Underwood (Bloomsbury)

Dino by Diego Vaisberg (Templar)