Clean sweep for ARU students at Macmillan awards

Published: 25 June 2024 at 11:03

Children's Book Illustration students claim top three prizes in national competition

Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) students have claimed a remarkable 1-2-3 in the prestigious Macmillan Prize for Illustration.

The students, from the Children's Book Illustration MA course at ARU's Cambridge School of Art, received their prizes at a ceremony at the London offices of publishing giant Pan Macmillan.

Abi Bi took the top prize with her picture book It's Swing Time. It was Abi's second time entering the Macmillan Prize for Illustration, having come second in 2023 with Where's Katie's Cat?

Second prize was awarded to Claire Lemp for Charles Makes Tea and third prize was awarded to Antara Raman for Furlock. In addition to the top three prizes, nine of the 20 highly commended entries also came from ARU students.

The clean sweep at the Macmillan Prize for Illustration is the latest success for students and graduates of ARU's world-leading Children's Book Illustration MA course during the current academic year.

Chloe Savage won the Illustrated Books category at the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2024, Simona Massa finished top in the New Talent Children's Publishing category at the World Illustration Awards, and Mariajo Ilustrajo won the £5,000 Klaus Flugge Prize.

In recent weeks, Naomi Tipping won the Batsford Prize Illustration category and fellow student Charlotte Durance claimed the Batsford Prize Children's Book Illustration category, while Heike Scharrer won the Illustration category at the Print Magazine 2024 awards, one of the leading design competitions in the United States.

Commenting on Abi Bi's success at the Macmillan Prize for Illustration, Chris Inns, Chair of Judges and Art Director at Macmillan Children's Books, said:

Abi, who has just completed her Masters course at ARU and will graduate later this summer, said:

Shelley Ann Jackson, Associate Professor and Course Leader of the MA in Children's Book Illustration at ARU, said:

The judging panel of the 2024 Macmillan Prize for Illustration was a mix of external experts and members of the Macmillan Children's Books team. Chair Chris Inns was accompanied by Suzanne Carnell (Publisher of Two Hoots), Emily Ford (Editorial Director of Picture Books at Macmillan), Alex T. Smith (How Winston Delivered Christmas, The Nutcracker), Camilla Reid (Who's Cute, Five Little Ducks), Sharon King-Chai (Starbird, Counting Creatures), Amanda Truman (Owner of Truman Books, Leeds), and Lucy Bannerman (news reporter and children's book reviewer at The Times).

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