First-ever Global Illustration Award to be awarded
Frankfurt, 11 July 2016 - Organised in conjunction with the International Information Content Industry Association (ICIA), the Frankfurt Book Fair has announced the first-ever Global Illustration Award. Designed to attract entries from around the world, the competition will be operated exclusively by IlluSalon, a global illustration resource platform, and illustrators can submit entries until 14 August 2016.¬¬
With a prize fund of 30,000 euros, and with the first prize winner receiving 10,000 euros, the competition will culminate in a prestigious awards ceremony on Thursday 20 October at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The competition is open to all illustrators, regardless of genre, subject area or medium, including e-books. The longlist is due to be published at the beginning of September, with the shortlist being revealed at a later point.
There are five categories in this year’s Global Illustration Awards: Cover Illustration, Children’s Book Illustration, Editorial Illustration, Scientific Illustration and Theme Illustration. The topic for this year’s Theme Illustration is “Learning to Live Together”. The awards are intended to encourage the creativity of illustrations worldwide, build a bridge of collaboration for the content industry, and set new trends for it.
The judges this year are composed of six industry experts from the fields of illustration, art, publishing and media. They are: Aljoscha Blau (illustrator), Andrea Wendt (founder, 2 agenten Agency for Illustrators), Bettina Schulz (editor in chief, novum World of Graphic Design), Thérèse Willer (chief curator, Tomi Ungerer Museum – International Illustration Centre), Till Weitendorf (CEO, Friedrich Oetinger Publishing House), and Xueqian Li (president, China Children's Press & Publication Group). A shortlist of fifteen candidates will be nominated, all of whom will have the opportunity to have their works featured on the GIA website and get promoted across the ICIA and Frankfurt Book Fair’s significant industry networks.
Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, says about the award: „In today’s visually dominated world, illustration and design are of increasing value and particular importance in the process of creating beautiful books. With the recent resurgence of print books, recognizing the valuable contribution that illustrations make in the production process is even more significant. The Global Illustration Award is a unique award, taking into consideration all forms of illustration, regardless of genre, subject matter and medium. As the Frankfurt Book Fair has always been an important meeting point for designers and illustrators, we are delighted that together with our partner this new prize has been initiated and will be awarded for the first time at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.”
Mingliang Hou, founder of IlluSalon, says: “After a year’s worth of planning and preparation, the long-awaited Global Illustration Awards have finally arrived. Covering all varieties of illustrations, the significance of these awards, in terms of value and the effect on the global content industry – and the publishing industry in particular – is quite clear. Every aspect of the Global Illustration Awards - the numerous exquisite competing pieces, a highly qualified and experienced judging panel, a fair judging process, and a grand awards party – highlights the awards’ authoritative nature. Indeed, these awards will be a grand occasion for the illustration industry.”
Entries, needed before August 14th, can be made via the 2016 Global Illustration Awards official website: www.illusalon.com/Home/Award.
About the ICIA
The ICIA is an international, apolitical, non-profit organisation based in Hong Kong. The organisation advocates the protection and maintenance of the rights and interests of the content industry in light of new technology. Learn more about the association and its work on the website. http://www.icia-international.org/index.php
About the Frankfurt Book Fair
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the international publishing industry’s biggest trade fair – with 7,100 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, around 275,000 visitors, over 4,000 events and approximately 10,000 accredited journalists – including 2,000 bloggers – in attendance. It also gathers key players from other media, including the film and games industries. Since 1976, the Book Fair has featured an annual Guest of Honour country, which showcases its book market, literature and culture to attendees in a variety of ways. The Frankfurt Book Fair organises the participation of German publishers at around 20 international book fairs and hosts trade events throughout the year in major international markets. With its Business Club, the Frankfurt Book Fair offers essential services and an ideal setting for the activities of publishers, entrepreneurs, pioneers, experts and visionaries. The Frankfurt Book Fair is a subsidiary of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association. www.book-fair.com
Contact for the media:
Press & Corporate Communications, Frankfurt Book Fair
Katja Böhne, Vice President Marketing & Communications, tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-138, press@book-fair.com
Kathrin Grün, PR manager, Tel.: +49 (0) 69 2102-170, gruen@book-fair.com
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