The Book Illustration Competition 2019 Announces Longlist
London — The Folio Society and House of Illustration are thrilled to announce the longlist for the annual Book Illustration Competition (#BIC2019).
Now in its ninth year, The Book Illustration Competition is a partnership between The Folio Society and House of Illustration. To date, the competition has distributed nearly £60,000 worth of prizes and has received thousands of entries.
This year from over 500 excellent entries, an increase of 17% on last year, 25 have been selected for the longlist.
The winner will receive a prestigious £5,000 commission from The Folio Society to illustrate their new edition of Diana Wynne Jones’s Howl’s Moving Castle. Five other shortlisted entrants will each receive £500. As part of the Book Illustration Competition’s committment to nurturing new talent, the judging panel ensures that student entries form part of the shortlist.
The difficult task of selecting the longlist fell to Sheri Gee, Art Director at The Folio Society, and Colin McKenzie, Director of House of Illustration.
Sheri Gee said ‘I was really impressed by the standard of entries this year from both students and professionals. Looking at over 500 interpretations to the brief, we found it so interesting how certain scenes clearly resonated more than others, inspiring a myriad of visual interpretations.‘
Colin McKenzie noted ‘We were delighted by the record number of entries to this year’s competition, more than for any previous year. The standard was extremely high and demonstrated not just how popular this book remains, but also that it is a story that really catches the imagination. As a result we have a very strong longlist.’
Entries were received from 47 countries including the USA, Brazil, Singapore, New Zealand and Armenia, and over 30% of them were from students.
This year also sees the return of the popular stand alone People’s Choice award. Voted for online (http://bicpeopleschoice.org), the People’s Choice can be selected from any of the longlisted entries.The People’s Choice winning artist and one member of the public who voted for them will receive £100 worth of books from The Folio Society and a one-year membership to House of Illustration.
The shortlist and the winner will be selected from the longlist by Laura Cecil, literary agent for Diana Wynne Jones; Sheri Gee, Art Director and Sophie Lewis, Editor both from The Folio Society; Colin McKenzie, Director and Olivia Ahmad, Curator both from House of Illustration and Max Löffler, winner of the Book Illustration Competition 2018.
The awards will be announced at an exclusive ceremony at House of illustration on 26 February 2019.
