Sebastian Walker Award

“All that counts is that a child says at the end of the book, ‘Again!” ― Sebastian Walker

In 2011 we launched the Sebastian Walker Award for new illustration. Established to mark the 20th anniversary of the death of our founder, Sebastian Walker, the award is run in collaboration with the fantastic MA course in Children's Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University, and is presented annually to the most promising graduate. 

Now in its tenth year, it’s wonderful that we are able to continue to support brand-new, unpublished picture book talent through the award, and to provide a platform for rising stars in the illustration world. Our picture book art director Audrey Keri-Nagy and Executive Art Director Ben Norland head up the award alongside Shelley Jackson, course leader at Cambridge School of Art. 

Through the award, we have discovered a wealth of outstanding new illustration talent, and we've loved working with the winners to create fresh new picture books to share with children everywhere. Since publishing Birgitta Sif’s Kate Greenaway shortlisted debut picture book, Oliver, in 2012, we have gone on to work with numerous Cambridge School of Art graduates and have published more than 30 picture books in collaboration with them. Sebastian would have been 79 this year, and we’re so proud to honour his legacy by continuing to seek out exciting new artistic talent in his name; artists that create books which children ask for again and again.


This year's award was presented to Thea Lu.

Having graduated from Tsinghua University, China, Thea spent several years working as a design consultant before completing her MA in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. Concept books, non-fiction books and interactive books are her favourite genres. Thea has been selected for several international awards previously, including the Golden Pinwheel Illustration awards, dPICTUS showcase, Poland Clairvoyants book competition and Bologna Children’s Spectator Exhibition. 

She is a folk arts and nature lover. Her works are mostly poetic and evocative, sometimes with subtle humour. Besides picture books, Thea is also working as a children’s experience designer, creating entertainment and educational products for children. Thea’s website can be found here: https://thealu.net/

Walker Books’ Picture Books Art Director Audrey Keri-Nagy and Executive Art Director Ben Norland said:

“This prize commemorates Sebastian Walker, and also remembers his unwavering support for illustration and illustrators and as is the case every year, we were overwhelmed with an array of astonishingly talented graduates.

The choice was hard! We loved Thea Lu's work for its strong and robust use of colour and texture, its inventive ways with composition and format, and for its humour and quirky individuality. The art is dramatic, and the words and pictures often hover between non-fiction and picture books in interesting ways. Thea is a great new talent and we are delighted that she was the chosen winner this year."

Previous Winners:

2012 Joint Winners: Heidi Deedman & Becky Palmer
2013 Winner: Jemima Sharpe
2014 Winner: Simona Ciraolo 
2015 Winner: Dave Barrow
2016 Winner: Jane McGuinness 
2017 Winner: Rachel Stubbs
2018 Winner: Viola Wang
2019 Winner: Al Rodin
2020 Winner: Ellan Rankin

Walker Books’ Picture Books Art Director Audrey Keri-Nagy and Executive Art Director Ben Norland said:

“This prize commemorates Sebastian Walker, and also remembers his unwavering support for illustration and illustrators and as is the case every year, we were overwhelmed with an array of astonishingly talented graduates.

The choice was hard! We loved Thea Lu's work for its strong and robust use of colour and texture, its inventive ways with composition and format, and for its humour and quirky individuality. The art is dramatic, and the words and pictures often hover between non-fiction and picture books in interesting ways. Thea is a great new talent and we are delighted that she was the chosen winner this year."

Picture books by previous students:

Birgitta Sif, class of 2011
Oliver  
Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance 
Miss Hazeltine's Home for Shy and Fearful Cats (written by Alicia Potter)
Snowboy and the Last Tree Standing (written by Hiawyn Oram)
The Tall Man and the Small Mouse (written by Mara Bergman)

Hugo (written by Atinuke) 

Jenni Desmond, class of 2011:
The Zebra Who Ran Too Fast 
Albert’s Tree 
On the Night of the Shooting Star (written by Amy Hest)
Joy (written by Yasmeen Ismail)

Valentina Mendicino, class of 2011:
The Really Abominable Snowman

Katie May Green, class of 2012:
Seen and Not Heard 
Hide and Seek

Heidi Deedman, 2012 joint winner:
Too Many Toys 

Becky Palmer, 2012 joint winner:  
Ellie and Lump’s Very Busy Day (written by Dorothy Clark)

Daisy Hirst, class of 2013:
The Girl with a Parrot on her Head
Alphonse, That is Not OK to Do! 
Hilda and the Runaway Baby
I Do Not Like Books Anymore!
Alphonse There's Mud on the Ceiling
I Like Trains

Monster Food & Monster Clothes

Gemma O’Callaghan, class of 2013:
Half a Man (written by Michael Morpurgo)

Simona Ciraolo, 2014 winner:
Can’t Catch Me! (written by Timothy Knapman)
If Winter Comes, Tell It I'm Not Here

Anuska Allepuz, class of 2016:
That Fruit is Mine
Little Green Donkey
The Walloos' Big Adventure

Jane McGuinness, 2016 winner:
Say Hi to Hedgehogs
What's Next? (written by Timothy Knapman) 

Find Out About ... Animal Babies (written by Martin Jenkins) 

Find Out About ... Animal Homes (written by Martin Jenkins) 

Flavia Zorilla Drago, class of 2018:
Gustavo, the Shy Ghost

Monsters Play Counting

Monsters Play Peekaboo

Leila the Crafty Witch - publishing 2022

 

Viola Wang, 2018 winner:

Animal Superpowers - publishing 2022

Who was Sebastian Walker?

Sebastian Walker founded Walker Books in 1979, aged 37, and established our US sister company, Candlewick Press, just over ten years later. He died in 1991 having achieved something truly remarkable and having changed children’s publishing in the UK forever. He started the business from his own home with a handful of colleagues and a bank loan, and a decade later, Walker Books was publishing over 300 titles per year, including classics such as Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford, Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell and Barbara Frith, Five Minutes' Peace by Jill Murphy, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, and Ten in the Bed by Penny Dale.

As someone who loved the idea of family, Sebastian Walker made his own family when he established Walker Books. Anyone who has worked for Walker will know that we often refer to it as “the Walker Family”, and anyone who has visited a Walker Books Group office – whether that be in London, Boston or Sydney – will be familiar with the friendly, homely atmosphere we continue to keep, from the thousands of stories that line our walls to the many talented people we work with. 

If you’re interested in finding out more about Sebastian Walker, we highly recommend A Kind of Prospero, an honest, detailed and touching biography written by his sister Mirabel Cecil. The title is taken from a phrase Maurice Sendak used to describe Sebastian Walker.