Child's Play

Booktrust Best New Illustrators Awards 2011

Claudia Boldt, author/illustrator of Star Gazers, Skyscrapers and Extraordinary Sausages and UUGGHH!, has been selected as one of the best new illustrators by Booktrust. The Award was established to raise the profile of emerging picture book illustration, as part of the wider Big Picture Campaign. The top ten rising stars of picture book illustration were unveiled at an exhibition in central London on Tuesday 22 March 2011.

Since the 2008 Awards the sales of picture books have demonstrated healthy growth, despite a challenging period for bookselling. This is only the second group of illustrators to receive the Best New Illustrators Award; the inaugural awards took place in 2008.

The Booktrust Best New Illustrators 2011 are:

Joe Berger
Claudia Boldt
Katie Cleminson
Chris Haughton
Alice Melvin
Sara Ogilvie
Levi Pinfold
Salvatore Rubbino
Viviane Schwarz
Kevin Waldron

Chosen by a stellar panel of judges, which included Children's Laureate Anthony Browne and best-selling Charlie and Lola author/illustrator Lauren Child, the winners have been crowned the Booktrust Best New Illustrators 2011. The final ten represent the best rising talent in the field of illustration today, who demonstrate remarkable creative flair, artistic skill and boundless imagination in their work. One further illustrator - Susan Steggall - was highly commended by the judges.

The judging panel for this year's Award comprised:

Children's Laureate Anthony Browne; Director of Literature Strategy at Arts Council England, Antonia Byatt; author/illustrator Lauren Child; founder of the Illustration Cupboard John Huddy and author/illustrator Ken Wilson-Max.

Anthony Browne, Children's Laureate comments:

'Sitting on the panel for the 2011 Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award has been enormously exciting. In the judging meeting colour popped out at us, detail begged to be pored over, wonderful characters bounded through the pages and words and pictures left enough imagination fuelling gaps in meaning to make us want to instantly revisit them! As a panel we were awed by the sheer range of styles and were thrilled to see how both classic and modern approaches are being successfully harnessed to bring children and adults alike some of the most innovative, fresh and skilled illustration being published today. When we had finally reached our decision we were left with a palpable sense that these 10 are the illustration stars of the future.'

An exhibition of their artwork is currently on display at the Illustration Cupboard - the UK's first gallery dedicated to illustration. The exhibition will stay at the Illustration Cupboard for a week before touring London literary venues including Foyles' flagship store in Charing Cross Road and the Free Word Centre in Farringdon. An exhibition of prints will also tour the UK throughout 2011. Click here for full details of the exhibition tour.

Foyles will be promoting the Booktrust Best New Illustrators 2011 both in-store and on their website. Participating Waterstone's and independent bookshops will also be promoting work by the winning illustrators.

Wed, March 23rd, 2011