V&A Illustration Awards 2026: Last Call for Entries

This is about the Call for Entries for the biennial V&A Illustration Awards - in 2026. Below are the basic facts of what you need to know - plus the link to where you can read more. Deadline for entry is 12.00 GMT on 5 January 2026.

The V&A Illustration Awards is a free, biennial competition celebrating excellence in illustration and contemporary practice, and judged by a panel of prominent illustrators and industry experts.

The Awards aim to reflect the contemporary UK illustration scene, welcoming published work by UK residents or those resident anywhere in the world working for UK clients. 

Illustration: Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year 2024 Benjamin Phillips, 

Alte Zachen / Old Things by Ziggy Hanaor (© Cicada Books, B. Phillips 2022)

 

The Prizes

The prize money has increased for 2026, 

• each of the five category winners will receive £3,500 
• five runners-up will get £1000. 
• The overall winner, the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year, receives 
• an additional £5,500 (making a total of £9,000) and 
• their work will become part of the V&A’s collections. 

Winners and runners-up for each category will be announced in summer 2026. Their work will be displayed in a dedicated, curated display within the V&A.

The Awards are generously supported by the Linder Foundation and the Moira Gemmell Memorial fund.

What you need to know

What are the categories for entries?

In 2026, there are five categories. There are no "designated briefs" for entries in any category.

The five categories are:

Adult Fiction: 

• Illustration applied to television, film and theatre, e.g. storyboards·
• Illustration for animations for fictional contexts
• Book and magazine illustration, including book covers of fiction, including poetry
• Artists' books
• Comics and graphic novels

Adult Factual (retitled)

• Artists' books and sequential illustrations for non-fiction contexts, including television and film
• Illustration for animations for non-fiction contexts
• Editorial illustration (in print or online), including reportage, case studies, features and reviews
• Cartoons for newspapers and magazines (in print or online)

Illustration for Children (audience aged under 16)

• Illustration applied to television, film and theatre, e.g. storyboards·
• Illustration for animations
• Book and magazine illustration (in print or online), including covers, picture books, pop-up books, fiction or non-fiction
• Cartoons for newspapers and magazines (in print or online)
• Sequential illustration, including comics and graphic novels

Advertising and Commercial

• Original illustration (not adapted from other purposes) for packaging and products
• Illustration for advertisements, including animated

Emerging Illustrator.

Our Emerging Illustrator category allows UK resident unpublished artists, over the age of 18, to enter their work, or those who have studied on UK college courses in 2024 and/or 2025.

• Only artists who have never been published are eligible to enter the Emerging category.
• The Emerging Illustrator competition is open to
• students who have attended a UK course in 2024 or 2025 and
• emerging and aspiring illustrators resident in the UK who are not yet commercially published or commissioned. 
• The project submitted must NOT have been published or be commissioned for publication before the deadline for entries 12.00 GMT on 5 January 2026.
• Examples of unpublished work include:
• Unpublished work distributed solely through your social media channels to publicise your work
• Self-published work which is not offered for sale
• Work offered not-for-profit for personal commissions (eg friends and family) and not commercially available
• Work produced and published in student magazines and/or to satisfy student coursework requirements

What can you enter / What period do the 2026 Awards cover?

The Awards cover 

• work created (if entering the Emerging Illustrator category) or 
• published in the period between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025.

What formats are eligible?

• Entries MUST be the creator’s original work.
• The Awards are open to illustrators and students of illustration working in any media, traditional and digital, but NOT AI (artificial intelligence).

Who can enter?

• You must be aged 18 or above on 31 August 2025. 
• Published awards: Open to 
• illustrators resident in the UK - working for clients anywhere in the world. 
• International illustrators working for UK clients.
• Emerging Illustrator category: Open to any emerging and aspiring illustrators resident in the UK who have not yet been commercially published.

Who needs to do the entry?

• Individuals can enter on their own behalf. 
• Agents, publishers and tutors may enter on illustrators’ behalf but are responsible for ensuring the illustrator's consent and acceptance of the V&A Illustration Awards' terms and conditions, including copyright.

What does it cost to enter?

• Entry is free

How do I enter?

• Entry to the V&A Illustration Awards takes place via the online competition platform in digital format only. 
• Deadline for entry is 12.00 GMT on 5 January 2026.

Email and postal submissions are not allowed and will not be considered if sent.

• Upload Images
• up to eight image files for each entry, 
• or supply a link to/upload a one minute video submission & five image files.
• PLUS
• a short text describing your motivations and aspirations for your artworks 

What else do I need to know?

• Terms and Conditions - You MUST READ the terms and conditions covering entry to all categories of the 2026 V&A Illustration Awards.
• FAQs - alos make sure you read the V&A Illustration Awards – FAQs
• You can enter more than one category - BUT 
• you must start a new entry form for each entry
• Work from the same project should form part of a single entry and cannot be entered to more than one category.
• All entries in the published categories must be available for purchase, including self-published work.
• These are links to:
• the VA& Blog about the V&A Illustration Awards 
• e.g. How to… Make your Illustration Award entry stand out from the crowd
• more about the V&A Illustration Awards

Judging and announcements

• Judging will take place January to March 2026. 
• Winners will be announced at the V&A South Kensington in July 2026 when the display of winners' work opens.

The one thing I really don't understand about the V&A Illustration Awards is why the people at the V&A didn't create or commission any sort of illustration suitable for use on Instagram re promotion of the awards. Any got any idea why this happened?