Congratulations to Kate Winter who was crowned the most exciting newcomer to picture book illustration at this year’s Klaus Flugge Prize award ceremony on Wednesday 11th September.

Her wining book The Fossil Hunter (Puffin Books) tells the inspiring story of Mary Anning, the 19th century palaeontologist whose discoveries in the cliffs of Lyme Regis transformed scientists’ understanding of the world. It is the first time that an information picture book has won the prestigious Klaus Flugge Prize and the judges admired the keen observational skills that inform the atmospheric watercolour illustrations.

As part of her research for The Fossil Hunter, Kate Winter read Mary Anning’s letters and journals and spent time in Lyme Regis, walking on the beach and drawing in the places Mary Anning loved. Of her book, she says: ‘Mary was a creative thinker. She dared to dream up something no one had ever thought of before. That’s what I want to do with my work: I want to show new ways of looking at things and I want to take readers on a magical journey.’

A key feature of The Fossil Hunter is Winter’s use of gatefolds that open up to take the reader from the factual spaces of the 19th century to imagined prehistoric scenes and allow the reader to dip into Mary’s mind and see what she was thinking.

This year’s judges included award-winning illustrator Petr Horáček who said: ‘The Fossil Hunter stood out even in a very strong shortlist. It is a beautifully produced book in which the informative text, the story and the illustrations are in perfect harmony. The energetic, well drawn and painted illustrations are a real treat for a reader of any age.’

Chair of judges, Julia Eccleshare said: ‘There is a strong history of illustrated non-fiction in children’s books, and we are excited that this year’s Klaus Flugge Prize is awarded to an information picture book. Non-fiction stories have been shortlisted previously, but this is the first time an information book has won. Mary Anning’s story has been told before but through the illustrations and Kate’s distinctive approach, The Fossil Hunter creates a unique sense of her character and work.  Each of the illustrators on our very strong shortlist has their own style, and their ability to communicate mood, character and narrative through illustration is thrilling. Congratulations to them all …’

Kate Winter is the ninth winner of the Klaus Flugge Prize, which was set up in 2016 to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press, and a champion of picture books and their creators throughout his long career.

You can find out more about all this year’s shortlisted artists and their artistic process in these short video interviews.