Introducing the Klaus Flugge Prize

January 26th 2016

  Last week, an important and brand new prize in the world of children's books was launched - the Klaus Flugge Prize. The Klaus Flugge Prize aims to recognise and award the very best illustrators in UK children's literature, and works in honour of Klaus Flugge, the man behind renowned publishing house Andersen Press.

Klaus Flugge

Born in Hamburg in 1934, Flugge had always wanted to work in the book industry, and soon found himself moving to Leipzig to study at a book trade school. At the age of 23, he emigrated to America as an East German refugee, and after a stint as an American GI, was soon offered a role at Abelard-Schuman publishing in New York. After moving back to Europe, where he honed his skills and developed his list of authors, he was soon in the position to launch his very own publishing company, Andersen Press (named after Hans Christian Andersen). Flugge was behind many a great book, author and illustrator, including the likes of David McKee (the man behind Elmer the Patchwork Elephant) and Tony Ross (author and illustrator of The Little Princess). He was also the first publisher to be awarded the Eleanor Farjeon Award (for an outstanding contribution to children's books) and the first and only publisher to be awarded an honorary member of the Youth Libraries Group in 2010.

The prize

The prize will be administered by Julia Eccleshare (Children's Books Editor, The Guardian), Anne Marley (Co-director, Authors Aloud UK) and Andrea Reece (Managing Editor, Books for Keeps) who currently run the Branford Boase Award for debut authors. The prize will be open to all picture books, and will be judged by an exclusive panel, who will be announced in February 2016. Debuting illustrators and authors will be able to submit their entries from February, and a shortlist will be announced in April, with the winner being revealed in September 2016. It's the only one of its kind in the UK, and the winning illustrator will be awarded a fantastic prize of £5,000.

An era of fresh talent

This is an exciting time for new illustrators, and we can't wait to see the types of British talent that will be highlighted during this innovative competition. If you want to get involved, or know of someone who's just illustrated their first book, visit the Klaus Flugge Prize site, where more information and the contact details of Andrea Reece are provided.