ARU illustrator triumphs at national Batsford Prize
Anantjeet’s win comes as four recent graduates make Klaus Flugge Prize shortlist
Anantjeet Kaur, pictured right, with Shelley Jackson
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) student Anantjeet Kaur has triumphed in the Illustration category at the 2026 Batsford Prize.
Anantjeet, who will graduate this summer from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration course at ARU’s Cambridge School of Art, received the award for her concertina book Terrace Tales.
Originally from India, where she specialised in graphic design and branding, the book draws on Anantjeet’s childhood and her desire to connect with her heritage after moving to the UK.
Using screen printing and a limited three-colour palette, Terrace Tales show these rooftop terraces as vibrant spaces that play a central role in community life.
Established in 2013, the Batsford Prize is the UK’s leading student art awards. This year’s competition saw more than 500 entries from universities and colleges across the country, and Anantjeet’s fellow ARU MA Children’s Book Illustration student Oryn Redford was a runner-up in the Illustration category for Hunting for Wishes.
“I created Terrace Tales from a personal longing for the rooftop terraces of my childhood after moving to the UK, so whilst on a trip to India, I began sketching these spaces. Sadly, they are disappearing from modern urban India, but in a small way I’m helping to preserve them in Terrace Tales, which shows them as safe places where play, community and solitude coexist for people of all ages.”
Anantjeet KaurAfter graduating, Anantjeet (@ananthralled on Instagram) plans to establish an illustration practice and, as a service to her community, one of her dreams is to set up a children's library.
“I look forward to returning to India and setting up an illustration practice working with publishers worldwide. I’d like to tell authentic stories from my culture – historic, contemporary, fiction, non-fiction.
“Being in India feeds my artistic antennae in the most wholesome way and has shaped both how and what I express. I'd also like to be involved with initiatives that bolster reading habits among children and adults alike, and one day hope to set up a children's library in Punjab, celebrating books as sources of joy and entertainment.”
Anantjeet Kaur
“This year’s shortlist approached the theme of connection with remarkable range, from intimate emotional landscapes to expansive, place-based storytelling. What stood out was a shared sensitivity to how connections are felt as much as seen, whether through material processes, narrative structure, or atmosphere.
“This year’s winner Terrace Tales by Anantjeet Kaur is a beautifully resolved piece of bookmaking, where form, process and theme come together seamlessly. Its unfolding, wordless narrative captures the quiet, everyday connections that shape communal life with warmth, clarity and originality.”
Batsford Prize judge Neil Dunnicliffe, Founder of Spring Literary
“We are so proud of Anantjeet and Oryn, and our students Heidi Griffiths and Ellie Good, who were also shortlisted.
“Anantjeet really pushed her illustration practice with this project, taking risks by trying new things – a limited colour palette, screen printing, and a concertina format – to celebrate and share an interesting aspect of her home culture.
“These risks led to a wholly unique project, and ultimately, are what the judges responded to. We’re looking forward to seeing what is next for all of these talented soon-to-be graduates.”
Shelley Jackson, Course Leader for the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at ARUAnantjeet’s success comes as ARU celebrates four recent MA Children’s Book Illustration graduates making the shortlist of the £5,000 Klaus Flugge Prize, which recognises the most promising and exciting newcomers to children’s picture book illustration.
Justin Worsley (Henry the Artistic Dog, Andersen Press), Forest Xiao (Seven Babies, Walker Books), Circle Yuen (Our Dance, Graffeg) and Laila Ekboir (We Are Like Birds, Kumusha Books) all feature on the six-strong shortlist, with the winner being announced on 9 September.
Ahead of then, 10 students and graduates from the MA Children’s Book Illustration course will discover if they have been successful after being shortlisted for the prestigious V&A Illustration Awards. The awards ceremony will take place at the world-renowned design museum in London on 1 July.
And next Tuesday (23 June) sees the awards ceremony of the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, with graduates Baljinder Kaur and Kate Rolfe both on the shortlist. The Carnegies are voted for by librarians and are the UK’s oldest book awards. Previous winners include Quentin Blake, Lauren Child, Janet Ahlberg and Raymond Briggs.