Templar launches dragon-themed illustration prize

Templar Publishing is launching a dragon-themed prize for aspiring illustrators as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations.

The award has been inspired by Kings Road Publishing imprint’s new Drake the Dragon logo and invites applicants to submit materials on a dragon-related theme. The book can be either fiction or non-fiction and aimed at pre-school children up to 12-years-old.  Templar will reach out to art colleges around the UK but welcomes submissions from “anyone with artistic talent”. The prize will be awarded on an annual basis, on a different theme.

A panel of judges, including illustrators Duncan Beedie, Emma Dodd, Sam Usher and Jane Foster, will select a shortlist to be announced in April 2018. The shortlisted parties will be invited to attend the Templar anniversary party in the summer, where the winner will be announced.

There will be cash prizes of £750, £500 and £250 for the first, second and third places and an opportunity for the winning idea to be considered for publication by Templar Publishing. The shortlisted works will also be showcased on publisher’s new website, launching in the New Year.

“Dragons sit at the very heart of Templar Publishing,” said Lisa Edwards, head of children’s publishing at Kings Road Publishing. “Dragonology [by Dugald Steer and illustrated by Helen Ward, Wayne Anderson, Nghiem Ta, Chris Forsey, A J Wood, and Douglas Carrel] is our bestselling title, and it is 15 years old in 2018. What better way to celebrate than to invite aspiring young illustrators to send in their work on a similar theme, especially as our new logo features a dragon too.”

Kings Road Publishing is part of Bonnier Publishing and is based in London's Chelsea.

For more information, visit templarillustratorcomp.co.uk or follow the publisher on Twitter at @templarbooks.