If you wish to apply for this Award, please read the Guidelines and the FAQs before preparing your application.

IMPORTANT: Only one application will be considered from each eligible illustrator. Please do not submit multiple times or attempt to update your submission.

Who can apply and what projects are eligible?

To be eligible to apply, you must:

• be a current financial member of SCBWI. Please check your membership status and expiry date before applying: Main SCBWI website >Member Home>My Profile>Membership Details
• must not have received a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place financial award from the Illustrator Awards that immediately preceded this one
• be published by any publisher that meets SCBWI’s best practices criteria as a PAL publisher.
• be aged 18 or over on 1 May 2026
• be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• satisfy one of the publication requirements for the category of award for this application

Eligibility of projects:

• It is allowed to resubmit a project which was previously submitted for the awards but only if it has significantly evolved. You must note that the project is being resubmitted in your description of the project and include information of how and why you have made the changes. 
• SCBWI is opposed to any use of text-prompted generative AI in writing, illustrating or other aspects of creating children’s books until fair policies and regulations are established to protect the work of all human creators. Only projects that adhere to the SCBWI Policy on AI are eligible for the SCBWI Picture Book Illustrator Awards.

Your publication history

Upload an attachment of one A4 page pdf that demonstrates your eligibility to apply for a particular sub-category by listing your previously published works. Please refer to the guideline page for formatting, file type and how to label your file.

Description of your project

Upload an attachment of no more than two A4 pages in a pdf format that provides a description of your project. Please refer to the guideline page for the details to be included, formatting, file type and how to label your file.

Portfolio

Upload a portfolio that demonstrates your skills as an illustrator. Images should be compiled into one pdf document consisting of 10 pages plus one cover page with your name and contact details. Please refer to the guideline page for formatting, file type and how to label your file.

Previously published book

You must submit a PDF of one PAL published work on which you wish to be assessed. Please refer to the guideline page for formatting, file type and how to label your file.

Support Material

You should submit a range of support material which best demonstrates your project and illustrative style. Supporting material should be a compiled into a pdf document consisting of up to 10 A4 or A3 pages. Please refer to the guideline page for formatting, file type and how to label your file.