Why you should enter the World Illustration Awards 2026

It's surprising how many illustrators don't enter awards. Sometimes an artist is just too busy, which seems fair enough. However, they often lack confidence or procrastinate too much. Don't let that be your excuse. Entries for the World Illustration Awards 2026 close on 17 February, and we think this is a fantastic opportunity that all illustrators should consider.

Money, money, money

OK, let's talk about the money. Get that out of the way. Yes, times are tough. However, entry isn't expensive at all. Even though the early-bird discount has finished, entering a single image is only £34, which is the same as US$43 or €41. If you want to enter multiple images for a project, it's £53, US$67 or €64. If you're a member of the Association of Illustrators, which runs these awards in conjunction with the Directory of Illustration, you get 30 per cent off, and there is also a 10 per cent discount for agencies wishing to enter 10 or more illustrators they represent.

Awards and judges

There are 44 awards in total. These are broken down across 10 categories, which include:

Advertising Animation Book Covers Children's Publishing Design, Product & Packaging Editorial Exploration Publishing Science & Technology Site Specific

Within each category, there will be a New Talent winner (for students and illustrators with under one year's experience), and a Professional winner, followed by a Highly Commended runner-up. Out of these, one Professional and one New Talent winner will be chosen as the Overall winners.

But there's more… Sponsors of the awards will be choosing the four cross-category winners, which include the AOI Members Award, Workbook's DI Award, the SAA New Talent Award and the XPPEN Digital Innovation Award.

Three industry professionals will judge each category from around the world. "We're still in the process of announcing our full jury lineup, but some confirmed names include David Young, art director at Which? Magazine; Matthew Broughton, designer at Penguin Random House Group; Meg Tall at Usbourne Publishing; and Clair Hume at Thames & Hudson Australia," says Helen Ridley, awards coordinator at the AOI.

What's it like to win?

"I was watching the live stream with my mum, and it came as such a shock when they read my name out as the winner for the Design, Product & Packaging category," recounts 2025 winner Léane Ruggli. "We were both jumping and screaming and, still in shock from the first announcement, we couldn't believe it when they declared me the overall winner! The excitement was so overwhelming that I will never forget it. My mum said it was like I had won the Oscars of Illustration."

This year, the awards will take place in September. Overall winners will receive cash prizes, and category winners will receive a trophy, AOI membership and a feature on the Awards website. Then, new opportunities will begin to unfold. For example, winning will put the work itself in front of a far wider audience, which can lead to other opportunities.

Sveta Dorosheva won the Professional Award in Advertising in 2024 for her Realms of Fantasy key art for the British Library. "The most tangible and important outcome for me was that the original artwork was acquired by the British Library, which remains one of the highlights of my career. Beyond that, the award placed the work into a broader international context – catalogues, exhibitions, industry articles – which extended its life far beyond my own portfolio," she says.

Both potential clients and agents out there are always looking for the best new illustrators to work with, and so a World Illustration Award can give your career a long-term boost. "Who wouldn't want to add 'award-winning illustrator' to their biography," says Handsome Frank co-founder Jon Cockley.

He continues: "We always look at the shortlisted work and winners. It helps us stay up to date on the industry and identify artists who may be a good fit for Handsome Frank. We also attend award evenings whenever possible, so it can definitely be beneficial for artists to do so as well. You never know who you might meet or what conversations may arise."

Towards the end of the year, the 44 winning projects and a slideshow of the 200 shortlisted entries will go on tour to venues such as UK universities, the London Book Fair and to collaborator organisations such as the Shenzhen Illustration Association in China. The venues often host workshops and talks inspired by the exhibition.

But even if you don't win…

The World Illustration Awards are prestigious partly because they're so big. Last year, there were over 5,000 entries from 85 countries. Just 44 awards – that's slim odds. However, the World Illustration Awards is sharing selected new entries with its 86,000 followers on Instagram during both the entry and judging periods.

Longlisted entries will be announced on 28 May, and those will receive further publicity. Each will be profiled on the World Illustration Awards website, including the illustrator's website and Instagram links. When the shortlists are announced on 30 July, the projects will feature on the website again in a more in-depth article.

What if you're not sure?

When we talked to illustrators about the awards, one of the main things they were unsure of was which works and categories to enter. The best thing to do if you're in two minds about anything is to ask for a second or third opinion. This is what Lele Saa did when she entered this year's awards.

Even though her main practice is in children's illustration, she entered illustrations in Exploration and Site Specific, aiming to reach eyeballs beyond the children's market.

"I asked a handful of fellow illustrators who are familiar with my work and my awards. Initially, I considered submitting a different work in the Exploration category, but after chatting with them, I realised the one I finally chose was more suitable," she explains.

If in doubt, you can even use the Ask section of Creative Boom Community. There are lots of helpful creatives on there.

A bit of history

The Association of Illustrators has been running an awards ceremony in one form or another since 1976. For many years, it was the images shown paired with a book of the same title. The awards relaunched in 2015 as the World Illustration Awards, with arguably a more straightforward format. Effectively, 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the awards, and the grand ceremony will take place on 8 September.

What are you waiting for?

Now it's high time your work got the recognition it deserves – from you firstly, and from the entire industry. Dive into your portfolio now and pull out your strongest projects. Then, if you haven't entered already, follow the link below to the World Illustration Awards website and make your entry. There's a full guide and even a video to help.

The future you will be glad you did.