Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition 2021

The China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF) announces that a new edition of its Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition is open to entries from 25 March to 28 June 2021 from young illustrators and children's book artists aged 16-39 years, from around the world.

The Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition is an international illustration contest held annually with the support of the Shanghai Press and Publication Administration. Since its creation in 2015, the competition has been providing a venue for emerging illustrators to showcase their talent. It aims to build bridges between them and children's publishers, both locally and globally. Following its uninterrupted expansion, the 2020 edition of the competition received a ground-breaking number of submissions from 2,238 artists hailing from 77 countries and territories.

The Golden Pinwheel is not merely a standalone competition—it is a comprehensive programme which includes an exhibition, an illustrated yearbook and a variety of promotional campaigns. It fosters an inspiring and nurturing environment where young illustrators and children's book artists from around the world find a platform to realise their visions.

Deadline for entries: 28 June 2021

Prizes:

The winner of the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (China) will be invited to attend the 2022 edition of the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair (BCBF), and the winner of the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (International) will receive an invitation to the 2022 Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF). Both invitations include a flight ticket and full accommodation, covered by the event organiser. The invited artists will have the opportunity to participate as guests in various illustration-related activities taking place at the fair.

In addition to the above and starting from the present edition of the competition, the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition organising committee has entered into an “award-to-award” cooperation with the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest, organised by Thinkingdom China, Astra Publishing House, minedition Switzerland and minedition France, in order to create the Golden Pinwheel Astra Award. This joint award of US$5,000 aims to promote international collaboration and publication among picture book illustrators and writers. The Golden Pinwheel Astra Award is open to all 50 finalists of the Golden Pinwheel Competition and judged by an independent jury appointed by the sponsors of the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest.

All 50 finalists will be featured in 2021 CCBF Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition Yearbook, which will also be presented at the 2021 Golden Pinwheel Illustration Exhibition held at the book fair from 19 to 21 November. Both the exhibition and the yearbook have established itself as a useful reference tool for publishers in search for fresh contents, occasioning an increasing number of contacts between content creators and the book industry.