By Alison Crowley and Ekta Rajagopalan
The Klaus Flugge Prize is held annually to recognise debut children’s book illustrators. The applicants were shortlisted in May 2024 and the winner was announced on 11 September. The website states the Klaus Flugge Prize is “the only award specifically to recognise a published picture book by a debut illustrator.” The winner receives a prize of £5000. This year, over forty books were submitted for the prize from a variety of publishing houses. These submissions were then whittled down to six entries.
The Klaus Flugge Prize was established in 2016 after Klaus Flugge, who, according to the official website was “born in Hamburg and worked as an apprentice in a bookshop before he emigrated to America. He worked as a personal assistant to Lew Schwartz, the owner of Abelard-Schuman in New York. Flugge then travelled to Europe to increase their booklist. He eventually settled in London where he set up Andersen Press in 1976.” Due to his dedication to children’s books, he has received many accolades including the Eleanor Farjeon Award, the first publisher to receive this award. Flugge was awarded Honorary Membership of the Youth Libraries Group in 2010, and in 2013 he was made an honorary citizen of the City of Bologna. In 2023 he was awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to children’s literature.
Winner of the 2024 Prize
Kate Winter took the 2024 prize for her book The Fossil Hunter from Puffin Books. Winter is both the illustrator and author of this book. This book follows the early work of Mary Anning in paving the way for modern palaeontologists to unearth fossils. Anning’s work helped uncover the way dinosaurs lived and, to this day, Anning’s work is credited with much of today’s understanding of how we evolved.
Winter first published her book in April 2023 with Puffin Books. She currently works as a senior lecturer at Cambridge School of Art, teaching illustration. She holds a BA in Fine Art from the Slade in London and went on to obtain an MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She is represented by Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. In 2019, Winter won the Ronald Searle Award. Before this, she worked as a stop-frame animator for clients including Nike and Orange.
The judges for 2024 included last year’s winner, Mariajo Ilustrajo, alongside Peter Horacek, Olivia Ahmad, Alex Forbes and the chair, Julia Eccleshare. Klaus Flugge himself was even in attendance.
Shortlisted Entries
Other shortlisted entries included Bia Melo’s The Dream Book, Angela Vives’ Bright Stars of Black British History, Emily Kapff’s The Crown, Sarthak Sinha’s Farah Loves Mangos and Olga Shtonda’s Henri and the Machine.
The Dream Book
by Bia Melo
Melo’s entry, published in June 2023, depicts Nina, a little girl who can’t wait to go to sleep each night because that is when dreams happen. She goes on many adventures each night in her dreams, but what once started as fun becomes more challenging and she must take control and conquer her dreams.
Bright Stars of Black British History
by J.T. Williams and illustrated by Angela Vives
Vives’ entry, published in September 2023, follows the lives of fourteen influential individuals from across the years to reveal their determination and tenacity in helping to create the world we live in today.
The Crown
by Emily Kapff
Kapff’s entry, published in April 2023, details the need to save the environment as told from the perspective of a little girl who wears a crown made of rubbish. This book takes a futuristic approach, told from the future as a foreshadowing of what will be should we fail to take action to preserve our planet.
Farah Loves Mangos
by Sarthak Sinha
Sinha’s novel, published in April 2023, follows a South Asian protagonist who, through her love of eating mangos, explores the world of nature and imagination. This all begins when her beloved mango tree is empty and she must set about finding a way to make the fruit grow.
Henri and the Machine
by Olga Shtonda
Shtonda’s entry, published in July 2023, follows Henri, a boy who can’t quite figure out the significance of art, until he sees a painting he can’t forget. This novel sees Henri unleash his creativity on the world in a journey to discover what art is all about.
These novels were all worthwhile entries, engaging children’s creativity and imagination as they learn about the world through thoughtful, beautifully crafted illustrations. The Klaus Flugge Prize is instrumental in recognising illustrators’ dedication to their craft in bringing stories to life.
Comentarios