We are now eagerly awaiting your submissions for the 2026 V&A Illustration Awards. Two years have passed since we called on all established illustrators, and those developing their craft, to put their best work forward for our biennial Awards. Our 2024 Awards brought in a record 2000+ entries and we are hoping that our judges for 2026 (to be announced soon!) will have a similarly rich and varied wealth of material to cast their eyes over when the entry period closes 12.00 GMT 5 January 2026.
Our entry portal will guide you through how to submit your entries: V&A Illustration Awards. The Awards aim to reflect the contemporary UK illustration scene, welcoming published work by UK residents or those resident anywhere in the world working for UK clients. Our Emerging Illustrator category allows UK resident unpublished artists, over the age of 18, to enter their work, or those who have studied on UK college courses in 2024 and/or 2025. See our full terms and conditions here.
In 2024 we evolved the Award categories to better reflect the contemporary British illustration industry. The categories stand for the 2026 Awards: Adult Fiction, Adult Factual (retitled), Illustration for Children, Advertising and Commercial, and Emerging Illustrator. We are particularly excited to welcome more entries made through digital media. You can upload up to eight image files for each entry, or supply a link to/upload a one minute video submission & five image files.
The prize money has also increased for 2026, with our five category winners each receiving £3,500 and five runners-up, £1000. The overall winner, the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year, receives an additional £5,500 and their work will become part of the V&A’s collections. Winners and runners-up for each category will be announced in summer 2026. Their work will be displayed in a dedicated, curated display within the V&A.
There are no designated briefs for entries into any category. We ask that you describe the motivations and aspirations for your artworks within your own short text. You will be guided through the process in our entry portal but do take a look at our webpages which cover everything, including FAQs to get you ahead of the game!
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The Awards are generously supported by the Linder Foundation and the Moira Gemmell Memorial fund.
