The Northern Illustration Prize is one part of The Northern Festival of Illustration, a biennial celebration of all that is great about the diverse world of illustration.

In 2019 The Prize attracted hundreds of entries from 6 continents. This time around we have invited entries from:

· Emerging illustrators in the first two years of their career

· Established illustrators more than five years into their career

Entries have once again flooded in from across the globe.

2021 has seen the world still in the grip of a pandemic but also with clear hope for the future as the creative minds of science roll out vaccines across the globe.

So this year The Prize wants to celebrate new beginnings – its theme is Renaissance. Illustrators have interpreted this in entries which reflect hope, and positivity, and which put a new take on the great paintings of the Renaissance!

A £1000 prize awaits the winner of each category. Shortlisted entries and the winners will be exhibited as part of The Northern Festival of Illustration Winners will be announced in September.

The Northern Illustration Prize is the creation of The Northern School of Art and is a collaboration with The Association of Illustrators.

The shortlisted illustrators are set out below.