V&A Illustration Awards 2012: Shortlisted Names Announced

The Victoria & Albert Museum has announced the names of fourteen artists shortlisted for its annual Illustration Awards.

The annual awards are given to the best book and editorial illustration published in the UK during the year. For the current event, many illustrations have been judged by an illustrious panel made up of fashion designer Orla Kiely, broadcaster and cultural commentator Emma Freud OBE and V&A Director of Design Moira Gemmill.

"The world of illustration is so wide and varied that it is important to be able to stand out with your own individual style. This competition is the perfect platform for such talented illustrators to exhibit their diverse abilities and approaches to design," Orla Kiely said in a statement.

The shortlist has been chosen from over 1,000 submissions from illustrators working in the UK. The panel selected their favourite entries from three categories: book illustration, book cover and jacket illustration and editorial publications.

Apart from this, winners of last year's award have judged a fourth category for students' work.

The winners will be awarded at the Illustration Awards Ceremony to be held at the V&A on 11 June, 2012.

Each category winner will be awarded £2000, with an additional £2000 given to the overall winner representing some of the most substantial financial prizes for illustration in the industry.

The 2012 V&A Illustration Awards shortlist includes:

Book Illustration

Laetitia Devernay for The Conductor (Chronicle Books)

Cathy MacLennan for Bunny Bunny Catkin (Boxer Books)

Rob Ryan for A Sky Full of Kindness (Hodder & Soughton)

Book Cover and Jacket Illustration

Petra Börner for Emma (Bonniers)

Matthew Richardson for The Outsider (The Folio Society)

Vicky White for Can We Save the Tiger (Walker Books)

Editorial

Luke Best for Chivalric Fiasco (Harper's Magazine)

Nick Lowndes for Small Businesses (Financial Times)