Global Illustration Award 2016 

Call for Entry 

The Global Illustration Awards (GIA) is an annual international illustration competition co-founded by the International Information Content Industry Association (ICIA) and the Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF), to provide illustrators worldwide with a stage for displaying creativity and to usher in a new era of global illustration. 

Illustrations are a means of spreading culture. In an age of reading with pictures, the flourishing of illustration art epitomizes the progress of human civilization and cultural development. GIA is intended to encourage the creation of excellent illustrations, build a bridge of collaboration for the content industry, and set new trends for the industry. 

Pick up your pens, illustrators, for the chance of displaying your talent is coming. 

I. Schedule

Call for entry: June 13 - August 14, 2016:

Entries reviewed: Mid August - Early September 2016

Longlist announced: Mid September 2016 (specific date to be determined and announced at the competition website)

Category winners announced & Awards Ceremony: October 20, 2016, Frankfurt, Germany.

II. Categories

  1. Cover Illustration

    Illustration commissioned and published for book cover (either physical or digital book). Includes but is not limited to literature, social science, children’s book, artist books, text books and reference books.

  2. Children’s Book Illustration

    Illustration commissioned and published for Children’s Book (readership of 16 years or under). Includes but is not limited to interactive books, picture books, chapter books, works of fiction and non-fiction,reference books, artist books and pop-up books.

  3. Editorial Illustration

    Illustration used to support an editorial article in magazines, newspapers, social comment, reporting, current affairs in any media and for any platform.

  4. Scientific Illustration

    Illustration commissioned to reflect, explain and represent the findings of science, technology, information and research. Includes but is not limited to natural history, wildlife, architectural imagery, academic research.

  5. Theme Illustration

 GIA Theme for 2016 is “Learning to live together”. Illustrations can be created freely based on the theme, to promote such ideas as peaceful coexistence, sharing and working together to build a fairer and more inclusive society. The work can include but not limited to the ideas about harmony between man and nature, cross-regional and cross-cultural exchanges to help understand diverse cultures and values, joint efforts to address increasing global challenges such as inequality, violence and terrorism. 

III. About the Awards

  Shortlist will be made up of fifteen outstanding winners selected from each GIA award category, one of them to be the Gold Award winner and the other two runner-ups to be the Excellent Award winners; one Grand Award winner will be selected out of the Gold Award winners from the five award categories. There will be 1 Grand Award winner (selected from Gold Award winners), 5 Gold Award winners, 10 Excellent Award winners and 110 Honorary Mentioned winners altogether.

Prizes for award winners:

Grand Award winner: €10,000, a trophy and an award certificate

Gold Award winners: €2,000, a trophy and an award certificate

Excellent Award winners: €1,000, a trophy and an award certificate

Honorary Mentioned winners: a trophy and an award certificate

IV. Competition Rules

  1. Registration and Submission

I. Go to the official website of the competition , and follow the instruction (please view Submission Guideline for details) to create an entrant account. To participate in the competition, all entrants must register and submit work online. For hand-drawn work, please convert it into an electronic file for submission.

II. Log in to the entrant account, input information as required, and submit work. (Please submit work according to the steps described in the Submission Guideline.)

III. Entries can either be Single Entry (one image per entry) or Multiple Entry (up to 5 images per entry). Multiple Entries should be used to showcase different elements of the same project. For multiple entries, please name your images following the format (very important, that which will ensure the multiple works be automatically bond together to show to the judges): title of your work_1, title of your work_2, title of your work_3, title of your work_4, title of your work_5.(which also described in Submission Guideline 6.3.1)

IV. An entrant can choose one or more categories to submit work. There is no limitation of the number of works that you submit.

V. Entries should be works published either physically or digitally.

VI. Entries must have been published or created no earlier than January 1, 2013 ( calender year).

VII. The competition is international and open to professional illustrators in any country or region.

VIII. Entries can be submitted by a third party such as a publisher or an agency. Third parties entering work by an illustrator must obtain the consent of the illustrator to enter his or her work in the competition. 

IX. No member of the GIA Committee and the Panel of Judges is allowed to participate in the competition.

X. Work must be original with certain artistic value, and it is the full responsibility of entrants for any dispute arising from copyright.   

XI. Works should be made between 1600-4000 pixels longest dimension, 150 dpi, as a jpg. (See details also at Submission Guideline 5.3)

XII. Please ensure you follow to the Submission Guideline (click here to download the Submission Guideline or view it online ) to avoid problems with your entries.

XIII. Works can not be submitted via online system, see “back-up plan” in Submission Guideline - Troubleshooting.

XIV. The competition organizer has the right to reject entries which do not conform with requirements and which are culturally, ethnically, or religiously sensitive.

  2. Selection

    The Panel of Judges consists of 6 judges, including world-famous illustrators, artists and industry experts.
    The Panel has the power to decide on winners.

    Process of selection: First Round Selection —— Second Round Selection (Longlist/Shortlist) —— Final Judge (Award winners)   

    I. First Round Selection

a. First Round selection is completed online, with all entries viewed anonymously .

b. Each entry (Single or Multiple) is evaluated by all the judges, who, after having viewed the work and related information and mark the work “yes” or “no” . Entries must have at least three “yes” votes to enter Second Round Selection. 

    II. Second Round Selection

a. The judges rate each entry on a point scale. The average of points given by the judges is the score for the entry. 25 highest-scoring entries of each categories will form the longlist of Honorary Mentioned Award winners. Points are given according to the following six criteria:

1) Effective in the expression of information, ideas and concepts

2) Creativity

3) Execution of technical skill

 4) Innovation and originality with regard to concept, theme, expression and style of the work.

5) Conveyance of emotion and inner spirit in the work

6) Contribution to international cooperation in the field of publishing and illustration, or achievement of something exceptional.

b. One entry is selected from each award category as the Gold Award winner for the category.

c. Two runner-up is selected from each award category as the Excellent Award winners for the category.

c. One Grand Award winner is selected from the five Gold Award winners.

d. The criterion for the Grand Award winner is that it must be the work that most impresses and interests the judges and that they consider to have made the most significant contribution to illustration for the year. 

  3. Publication

a. Category winning work and other selected work will be included in the awards publication. GIA committee will get in touch with details after a selection has been made.

b. All the work for inclusion in the award publication and exhibition is at the discretion of GIA committee.

c. It is a condition of entering the competition that the GIA committee is granted a licence to reproduce selected work in the award publication and any other print or digital material for purposes of promoting the Global Illustration Award. 

V. Supporting Information

1. There is no charges of participating in the Global Illustration Award 2016.

2. The names and contact information of the creators of entries on the long-list may appear on the website of the competition and in related publications and promotion materials.

3. Entrants agree that the GIA committee can use entries and related information, and grant it the right to non-exclusively use and reproduce entries for free for the promotion of the competition, publication, exhibition, awards ceremony and exhibition tour - such as GIA-related documents, invitation cards, press coverage, information leaflets, posters, postcards etc.

4. The entrant confirms and agrees that any selected entry is available for re-use on the cover of the Award Catelogue without any restriction or request for financial contribution. Any third party submitting an entry (such as agencies or publishers) is responsible for contacting the copyright holder to ensure his/her consent to these terms.

5. Entrants must accept all competition rules announced to enter the competition.

6. The GIA committee reserves the right to cancel/change the competition or any element thereof should insufficient entries be received or any other circumstances arise that makes it necessary for GIA committee to cancel/change the competition or any part of the competition.

7. The GIA committee reserves the right to the final interpretation of the competition.