ARU course delivers 10 finalists at V&A awards
Strong showing from students and alumni from the Children’s Book Illustration MA
Illustration from The Sleeper Train by ARU graduate Baljinder Kaur
Talented students and graduates from Anglia Ruskin University’s Cambridge School of Art have packed the shortlists of the 2026 V&A Illustration Awards, one of the world’s most prestigious illustration competitions.
Run by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the biennial awards were established in 1972 to celebrate excellence in illustration, and this year’s competition has brought exceptional success for ARU’s MA in Children’s Book Illustration course, which has produced 10 nominees across three categories.
Five of the seven illustrators shortlisted in the Emerging Illustrator category have studied on the ARU programme, while four of the eight finalists in the Illustration for Children category are graduates of the course.
Students and alumni from ARU have been awarded first prizes on each of the last seven occasions the V&A Illustration Awards have been held, including Aditi Anand winning the Emerging Illustrator title in 2024.
Now a published illustrator and author, as well as an Associate Lecturer at ARU, Aditi has once again been shortlisted, this time in the Illustration for Children category for One Diwali Day.
Aditi is joined on the Illustration for Children shortlist by fellow ARU MA Children’s Book Illustration graduates Laura K Sayers (We Sing!), Baljinder Kaur (The Sleeper Train) and Marina Ruiz, also an Associate Lecturer at ARU, for In Time.
The seven-strong Emerging Illustrator shortlist includes three students who will graduate from ARU this summer – Jennifer Baranowska (Love Story), Kaori Tokunaga (Boris and the Stolen Tomatoes) and Chloe French Nelson (Cinema Ghost) – alongside recent ARU graduates Vannysha Chang (Process) and Luis Lopez, who is shortlisted for both Little Hunter’s Best Friend and Grey Clouds.
Meanwhile, fellow MA Children’s Book Illustration graduate Carol Adlam is shortlisted in the Adult Fiction category for her graphic novel The Russian Detective, (Penguin/Jonathan Cape), which has earned critical acclaim.
“The V&A Illustration Awards hold a very special place in the illustration community, not least because winners have their work exhibited in one of the world’s most iconic museums. That is a wonderful honour for any illustrator, at any stage of their career.
“To see 10 students and graduates from our MA course recognised this year is truly extraordinary. We are immensely proud of them all and excited to see what they achieve next.”
Shelley Jackson, Associate Professor and Course Leader for the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at ARUThe V&A Illustration Awards received more than 1,600 entries this year and the judging panel includes Lauren Child CBE, the creator of Charlie and Lola, and Sir Tristram Hunt, the Director of the V&A.
Each category winner will receive £3,500, with an additional £5,500 awarded to the overall winner, who is named the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year. The winners will be announced on Wednesday, 1 July.