The fourth year of The Northern Illustration Prize, The Northern School of Art’s prestigious biennial illustration competition hosted by the UK’s professional body for illustration, The Association of Illustrators (AOI), has launched with a brand-new category recognising emerging animators.

Entries are now being invited from emerging and professional illustrators and emerging animators on the theme of ‘Stories of Home’.

Now in its fourth year, the previous competitions have attracted hundreds of entries from emerging and professional illustrators from across the globe.

This year’s winners will receive a host of prizes, including £1000 for the Established Illustrator category.

2023 Emerging Illustrator prize winner: Lemady Richard, ‘A boat Filled with Bodies’

2023 Established Illustrator prize winner: Maria Paulina Restrepo, ‘The Lighthouse and the Sailor’

The Prize also heralds the starts of the countdown to the biennial Northern Festival of Illustration which is taking place across the coastal town of Hartlepool this autumn.

Rachel Hill, CEO of the AOI, which is the project partner for the Prize alongside the School, said: “The Northern Illustration Prize is a celebration of illustration as an art form. The Northern School of Art continues to be an important champion of the illustration community, and we’re absolutely delighted to host this brilliant competition for a fourth time.”

The competition theme for this year’s Northern Illustration Prize of ‘Stories of Home’ invites illustrators and emerging animators to explore and express what ‘home’ truly means to them.

From cherished memories and cultural traditions to personal spaces and the people who shape them, the competition organisers are challenging creatives to dig deep into their roots, experiences, and imaginations. Whether ‘home’ is a physical place, a fleeting feeling, or a person, this theme is open to personal and diverse interpretation.

The 2025 competition once again includes Emerging Illustrator and Professional Illustrator prize categories. A brand-new category is being debuted this year with an Emerging Animator Prize.

Olivia Burton, Co-director of the Festival and Director of Research and Head of Faculty at The Northern School of Art said: “We are thrilled to be hosting this year’s Northern Festival of Illustration. The Northern Illustration Prize theme is a celebration of identity, memory, and imagination. We’re excited to see the wide range of interpretations illustrators will bring to the table.”

This year’s competition prizes are sponsored by Aardman Academy, the training facility of the award-winning animation studio, and the international website design tool business, Readymag.

In addition to the prizes for the winners of the three categories the top 10 shortlisted entries in each category will be displayed at this year’s Northern Festival of Illustration exhibition.

The Festival, which runs from 13 September to 1 November 2025, is taking place in multiple venues across Hartlepool, including Hartlepool Art Gallery and The Northern School of Art, bringing together communities, creatives, and audiences of all ages.

Further details and the entry form for The Northern Illustration Prize can be found at https://theaoi.com/northern-illustration-prize-2025 where there is full guidance on how to enter and the terms and conditions.

The Northern Illustration Prize opens on 1 May and the final deadline for entries is 12 June 2025. The competition is open to any emerging or professional illustrator or emerging animator working anywhere in the world in any format or medium or context.

The winners will be announced in late September.

The Festival of Illustration is at www.thefestivalofillustration.com and on social media @festivalofillustration