Thursday 11 September – Emma Farrarons is the winner of the 2025 Klaus Flugge Prize awarded to the most exciting and promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration. She wins for her illustrations in My Hair is as Long as a River, written by Charlie Castle (Macmillan Children’s Books). The boy in this story has long hair, and through a series of wonderful metaphors, gloriously illustrated by Farrarons, he explains why his long hair is so important, how it is part of him, even his ‘happy ever after’. The judges commend Emma’s use of colour and composition and the way she captures the story’s sense of playfulness.

This year marks ten years of the Klaus Flugge Prize, which was established in 2016 to honour Klaus Flugge, founder of Andersen Press and a leading figure in the world of children’s publishing and illustration. The £5,000 prize is the only prize specifically to recognise a published picture book by a debut illustrator and is one of the most important and influential awards thanks to its spotlight on exciting new talent. Previous winners include Eva Eland, Jessica Love, Flavia Z Drago, Mariajo Ilustrajo, Joseph Namara Hollis and Kate Milner.