Klaus Flugge Prize shortlist 2026

The shortlist for the highly regarded Klaus Flugge Prize was announced on Thursday 14 May. Established in 2016, the Klaus Flugge Prize is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to children’s picture book illustration and was set up to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and a hugely influential figure in the world of children’s publishing. Now in its eleventh year, the £5,000 prize is the only one specifically to recognise a published picture book by a debut illustrator. The winner will be announced at an award ceremony in London on Wednesday 9 September 2026.

From a longlist of 18, the panel of judges have chosen six to shortlist and praised the illustrators for their skill and originality and for the inventiveness of their storytelling. Their books’ subjects are very varied, and topics include a magical island that finds a way to slow down its residents; a dog creating amazing artwork from materials he has to hand; seven very active little babies; a family constantly on the move; and a little girl finding ways to cope when her parents separate. There is also an information picture book on the list, telling the true story of Ferdinand Magellan and his epic journey.

I have made this comment many time but here it is again. We are SO lucky here in Australia because we can access the BEST books from other English-speaking countries (and also books translated into English) such as UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. If you have money in your budget it might be good to consider one or two books from the Klaus Flugge shortlist as a good addition to your school library. 

Images from Klaus Flugge page.

Here is the Kirkus review

Here is the Kirkus Star review

Reading about this book I thought of the 2010 title The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies

Here is a review- Letterbox Library

I previously talked about We are like birds.

Here is the Kirkus review 

Here is the longlist:

International Award Winners Announced

On the same day we heard the news about the Hans Christian Andersen Award winners (one for writing and one for Illustration) and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. Given every other year by IBBY, the Hans Christian Andersen Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are presented to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature. The Author's Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator's Award since 1966. The Award consists of a gold medal and a diploma, presented at a festive ceremony during the biennial IBBY Congress. 

And the winner for writing is .... Michael Rosen. Read my post from 2024. And here is his web page.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt

Michael Rosen's Reading Manifesto:

1. Reading books helps children make the most of what school and the world offer them.

2. Books give children language, thoughts, ideas and feelings.

3. Books show them places and times and cultures very near and dear to them.

4. Books show them places and times and cultures they may not have come across before.

5. Books help children walk in other people’s shoes, seeing things from someone else’s point of view.

6. Books help children see that they are not alone.

7. We have to do what we can to put books into children’s hands.

8. We have to do what we can to find space and time for children to talk about books.

9. We have to celebrate children’s books.

10. Children’s books are for everyone because we are all children at some time or another.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is a global award given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. With a prize of five million Swedish kronor, it is the largest award of its kind. Above all else, it highlights the importance of reading, today and for future generations.

And the winner is ... Canadian author/illustrator Jon Klassen. Read more here. 

Extra Yarn

Check out my previous posts about the ALMA for 2026 and the HCAA ten short listed authors and illustrators. The 2026 HCAA Illustrator winner is Chinese artist Cia Gao. I don't think any of her books have been translated into English but I expect that will now happen following on from this award.  You can read her dossier. There are links here on the IBBY page. 

Previous ALMA winners include our Australian Indigenous Literacy Foundation; Shaun Tan; Sonya Hartnett; Jacqueline Woodson; Christine Nostlinger (Conrad the story of a factory-made boy); Laurie Halse Andersen; and Maurice Sendak.

Previous HCAA winners for writing include Patrician Wrightson (Australia); Jacqueline Woodson; David Almond; Margaret Mahy; Martin Waddell; Aiden Chambers; Katherine Paterson; and Astrid Lindgren. Previous HCAA winners for illustration include Maurice Sendak; Mitsumasa Anno; Robert Ingpen (Australia); Lisbeth Zwerger; Anthony Browne; Max Velthuijs (Frog is frog); Roberto Innocenti; Roger Mello; Suzy Lee; and Sydney Smith. 

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

A total of 263 candidates from 74 countries and regions have been nominated for the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, including 78 candidates new from previous years. The list includes authors and illustrators, as well as storytellers and reading promoters. The laureate will be announced on 14 April 2026.

Here are some highlights and familiar names:

AUSTRALIA - Alison Lester; Ursula Dubosarsky 

NIGERIA/UK - Atinuke

GERMANY - Axel Scheffler

ITALY - Beatrice Alemagna

CHINA - Cao Wenxuan

IRELAND - Chris Haughton

UK - David Almond; Jackie Morris; Quentin Blake; Michael Rosen; Julia Donaldson; Nicola Davies; Philip Reeve

CANADA - Deborah Ellis; Elise Gravel; Isabelle Arsenault; Jon Klassen; Sydney Smith.

NEW ZEALAND - Gavin Bishop

COLOMBIA - Ivar Da Coll

POLAND - Iwona Chmielewska

USA - Jason Reynolds; Kate DiCamillo

BELGIUM - Leo Timmers

SWEDEN - Marit Törnqvist

IRELAND - Oliver Jeffers; Sarah Crossan

CHILE - Paloma Valdivia

BRAZIL - Roger Mello

SOUTH KOREA - Suzy Lee

FRANCE - Timothée de Fombelle

And some terrific Organisations:

ITALY - Silent books Lampedusa (IBBY) Here are the books from IBBY Australia

USA - A Book a Day; Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

UK - Centre for Literacy in Primary Education; Empathy Lab.

These are titles from The Empathy Lab

Congratulations to Pamela Allen

 

Pamela Allen Order of Australia Medal

Australia Day Honour list: Mrs Pamela Kay ALLEN for significant service to literature as an author. 

Pamela Allen was born in New Zealand (1943) but lived in Australia for over thirty years before moving back to her original home. She has received numerous awards in New Zealand. 

Pamela Allen is a phenomenon in the world of children's literature. Since her first publication in 1980, her picture books have enchanted generations of children around the world, and have garnered a glittering array of awards and commendations including six Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards, two New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards, an International Board on Books for Young People Diploma for Illustration, the Margaret Mahy Medal, New Zealand’s most prestigious award for children’s literature, and most recently The Gaylene Gordon Award for a Much Loved Book from the Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand. Penguin Australia

Her first book was Mr Archimedes Bath written in 1980.

Two Melbourne radio hosts were talking about Pamela Allen's books today and of course they talked about an debated this favourite (by the way I still blame the little mouse). Who sank the Boat? was the 1989 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) picture book of the year winner:

Here is an ABC Radio interview with Pamela Allen. 

Pamela Allen was selected in 1984 as the IBBY Australia honour book winner with her book Who Sank the Boat?  

For this biennial Honour List, published in connection with the IBBY Congress, National Sections of IBBY are invited to nominate outstanding recent books that are characteristic of their country and recommended for publication in different languages. One book can be nominated for each of the three categories: writing, illustration and translation.

I recently talked about Shhh! Little Mouse. 

CBCA Awards

• 1981 Mr Archimedes Bath Picture Book of the Year Commended
• 1983 Who sank the boat? Picture Book of the Year Winner
• 1984 Bertie and the Bear Picture Book of the Year Winner
• 1993 Belinda Picture Book of the Year Honour Book
• 2001 The Potato People Early Childhood Honor Book
• 2004 Grandpa and Thomas Early Childhood winner
• 2007 Doodledum Dancing Early Childhood Honor Book

I was working as a volunteer in a school library yesterday and one of the Preschool teachers requested books about colours - I found this one by Pamela Allen - once it is returned, I need to read it. I missed it back in 2011.

‘From Pamela Allen's first publication in 1980 it was clear that here was a creator of picture books with all the glow, gesture, din and dance to capture the attention, engage the imagination, teach, show, tickle and excite small children.’ Meg Sorensen, Australian Book Review

Ann James illustrator and Australian Hans Christian Andersen Award nominee

IBBY Australia is proud to announce the names of the Australian nominees for the 

Hans Christian Andersen Awards 2020: 

Ann James (for Illustration) and Libby Gleeson (for Writing)

Ann James - illustrator

Here is the Press Release from IBBY Australia:

Ann James, AM is one of Australia’s best loved and most respected picture book artists. Since publishing her first book, A Pet for Mrs Arbuckle (1981), by Gwenda Smyth, she has been highly regarded for her gloriously joyous and spontaneous artwork and has collaborated with some of Australia’s finest writers including Sonya Hartnett, Margaret Wild, Janeen Brian, Libby Hathorn, and Frances Watts.

She has co-created classic series characters such as Robin Klein’s Penny Pollard, Christine Harris’s Audrey of the Outback and Libby Gleeson’s Hannah. She also wrote and illustrated Bird and Bear (2013), and Bird and Bear and the Special Day (2016) which are bound to become enduring classics.

In 1988 Ann and her partner Ann Haddon established Books Illustrated, a gallery promoting picture books and their creators, through exhibitions in Australia and overseas. Ann helped establish the Society of Illustrators in 1988 and as a board director of the Australian Society of Authors (1996–2016), in 2003 she coordinated the www.thestylefile.com, an online showcase of Australian book illustrators. She is a founding board director of the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation (ACLF).

In 2000, Ann James and Ann Haddon were awarded the Pixie O’Harris Award, and in 2016, the Order of Australia, AM. In 2003, Ann also received the Dromkeen Medal. Many of her over 80 books have been published internationally, and many are award winners. Bernice Knows Best by Max Dann was CBCA Junior Book of the Year, 1984, and Hannah Plus One by Libby Gleeson won the same award in 1997.

Her artwork is distinguished by a number of qualities. Always, in a very subtle way, she tells a story in pictures with a filmic continuity which invites readers to question and interpret each image. She is a truly intuitive artist. Her loosely drawn figures are capable of conveying immense emotion. They are whimsical and thoroughly delightful in their improvised poses. Her work celebrates the child’s view of the world and her images are always astutely perceptive. Ann uses watercolour, charcoal, pastels, and a variety of innovative media. She creates her deceptively simple characters with a sleight of hand – a smudge of colour, the placement of an eye, the scale of a figure, the shadows cast by light – to convey the emotion behind words on a page.

Image source: SLJ review (Elizabeth Bird) of Sadie and Ratz by Sonya Hartnett

http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/04/02/review-of-the-day-sadie-and-ratz-by-sonya-hartnett/

Ann’s advocacy has had a profound influence on Australia’s recognition in Asia and Europe. She has been a major force in Australian children’s publishing since the early 1980s.

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If you are in a school library see if you still have this poetry book by Robin Klein. It is an early book illustrated by Ann James and it contains such terrific poems.

You can find a list of other titles illustrated by Ann James here and you can see some of her glorious art on her Books Illustrated site. Here are some titles that might be in your school library:

One more cover.  This is the newest book (from Allen and Unwin) illustrated by Ann James due for publication in July 2019.