The shortlist for the Klaus Flugge Prize 2025 has been announced. Now in its 10th year, the prize celebrates the most promising and exciting newcomers to picture book illustration and is the only UK award specifically to recognise a published picture book by a debut illustrator.

The Klaus Flugge Prize is recognised as one of the most significant children’s book awards, supporting illustrators at the start of their careers and helping to raise awareness of the art of picture book illustration in general. It was established in 2016 to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and one of the most influential figures in the world of children’s publishing.

This year’s shortlist of three titles was selected from a longlist of 15 picture books by a panel of judges made up of illustrators, educators and children’s book experts.

Commenting on this year’s shortlist, chair of the judges Julia Eccleshare said, “Once again, the longlist reflected the creative ambitions of new illustrators and their publishers, but these three books stand out. Emma Farrarons, Mikey Please and Rhian Stone are exceptionally talented illustrators, and their books demonstrate powerfully all that picture books can do, taking young children into new and different worlds, explaining emotions through the medium of illustration, and creating a sense of self and identity. We are delighted to spotlight them and their artform as the Klaus Flugge Prize celebrates its tenth anniversary.”

Congratulations to all this year’s shortlisted illustrators!

The 2025 Klaus Flugge Prize shortlist:

My Hair is as Long as a River illustrated by Emma Farrarons, written by Charlie Castle  (Macmillan Children’s Books). The judges highlighted the sense of playfulness and imagination captured in the illustrations and admired the loose artwork style and gorgeous colour palette.

The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please (HarperCollins Children’s Books). The judges admired the tempo and structure of the story. They felt this was a book that would appeal to a wide range of readers and would inspire future picture book makers.

Grandad’s Star illustrated by Rhian Stone, written by Frances Tosdevin  (Rocket Bird Books). The judges admired the sense of feeling created in this story and highlighted the loose and light artistic approach and the expressive body language.

The winner of this year’s Klaus Flugge Prize will be announced on 11th September 2025. Watch out for our winner announcement.

For more children’s book awards, click here.