The Folio Society has today launched the international Folio Book Illustration Award 2023 at Bologna Book Fair. This is the second edition of the annual free-to-enter competition, launched in 2022 to mark The Folio Society’s 75th anniversary.
The Award is open to illustrators, student or professional, who have not previously been commissioned by The Folio Society, with the aim of finding, platforming and supporting new illustration talent from around the world. Selected from a shortlist of six, the winning entrant will receive a £2,000 cash prize plus a £500 Folio Gift Voucher, and the five runners-up will receive a £500 Folio Gift Voucher.
This year’s competition calls for submissions illustrating Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘The Fliers of Gy’. The short story tells of a society of feathered people among whom a select few grow wings, a feature that gives them the ability to fly but that also carries great risk and leaves them shunned from society.
This year’s judging panel includes Evangeline Gallagher, winner of the Folio Book Illustration Award 2022. Gallagher was selected from over 680 illustrators from 56 countries for their illustration of a scene from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Masque of the Red Death, and they have since gone on to work on illustrations for clients like Peachtree Publishing, Possum Creek Games, and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. They will be judging this year’s Award alongside Tom Walker, Folio Publishing Director; Sheri Gee, Folio Art Director; and Raquel Leis Allion, Folio Art Director.
The Award closes on 19th April 2023. A longlist of 20 entries, selected by the judging panel, will be exhibited on The Folio Society website from 23rd May 2023 with the five runners-up and one winner announced online on 29th June 2023. ENTER HERE.
