V&A Illustration Awards

First established in 1972, the V&A's competition is defined by a focus on the British illustration industry, celebrating artwork made for the UK market by artists from across the globe as well as artwork made by illustrators living the UK. We are excited to announce some changes in our categories to evolve the Awards further for 2024.

The Awards are generously supported by The Linder Foundation and the Moira Gemmill Memorial fund.

For the 2024 V&A Illustration Awards we are welcoming entries for four published categories and one for emerging unpublished illustrators:

See our Terms and conditions for detail on the types of illustration included in each category.

There is no set brief for any of our Awards. They are open to illustrators aged 18 or above on 31 August 2023 and working in any media. The 2024 Awards judge work created (by emerging illustrators) or published in the period between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023.

Our four published categories are open to illustrators resident in the UK, and international illustrators working for UK clients.

The Emerging Illustrator category is open to students attending courses at UK universities in 2022 or 2023 and emerging illustrators resident in the UK who are yet to be commercially published or commissioned.

Prizes

There is a winner and runner-up in each category. The five category winners each receive £3,000 and five runners-up receive £750.

An overall winner is named the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year and receives an additional £5,000, with their artwork entering the V&A's collection.

Selected artwork from each of the winners and runners-up will feature in a display held at V&A South Kensington.

Judging and announcements

Judging will take place January to March 2024 and shortlisted illustrators will be revealed on this page. Winners will be announced at the V&A South Kensington in September 2024 when the display of winners' work opens.

Entry to the V&A Illustration Awards is online only via our competition platform. Deadline for entry is 23:59 GMT on 5 January 2024.

Please read our Terms and conditions before submitting work to the competition.

Hints and tips on how to make your submission stand out.

Best of luck!

These are the terms and conditions covering entry to all categories of the 2024 V&A Illustration Awards.

If you have more questions about the V&A Illustration Awards and how to apply, please consult our frequently asked questions.

The V&A has been running an illustration competition since 1972 when the Francis Williams Awards were presented for the best illustrated books. In 2004 new categories were introduced for Book Cover Design and for Editorial Illustration, covering illustration in newspapers, magazines and comics. The student category was created in 2005, with a runner-up prize introduced in 2009.

For the 2024 Awards a new category Advertising & Commercial has been introduced. We have realigned other categories to create Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction and Illustration for Children. The student category has now expanded to become Emerging Illustrator.

The V&A Illustration Awards blog brings you the latest updates throughout the year including the shortlist and winner announcements. You can also hear from our previous winners and receive words of advice from former judges.

Contact: villa@vam.ac.uk

The Awards are generously supported by The Linder Foundation and the Moira Gemmill Memorial fund.