This year, Folio challenged illustrators from around the world to reimagine a scene from the classic fairytale Rapunzel. Now, from more than 880 entries and 71 countries, we can reveal the best of the best.

It’s not about what’s on your CV. It’s not about your industry connections. It’s not about who can raise the money for the entry fee (there isn’t one). If you’re aged 18 or older and you’re a human, then the only thing that stands between you and the prize is your imagination and your raw talent. Which is why the Folio Book Illustration Award (FBIA) is one of the most prestigious – and intimidating – gigs in the industry.

This year, aspiring and established illustrators were challenged to breathe new life into the iconic Brothers Grimm tale Rapunzel. The response was extraordinary: 880 entrants from 71 different countries. Each entry was judged blind: the judges – bestselling author Erin Morgenstern, FBIA 2024 winner Zack Rock, along with Folio’s Head of Editorial James Rose and Fiction Editor Sophia Schoepfer – were only given the submissions with no information about their creators at all. Whittling them down to a longlist and finally a shortlist was a difficult and daunting process, says James. ‘But it leads to brilliant conversations.’

THE WINNER – Dawn Xintong Yang

“'I'm based in New York City so, of course, the 'I love NYC' mug is a must! But another cup is just as important, the one that has my coffee. I can't live without caffeine, and there's no time, late or early, that it's off the menu. That's as long as I can find it – my desk is always a bit of a mess!”

Dawn works entirely on various iPads, often on the long commutes to her part-time job as an art educator. She starts any project with several close reads, with emotional reactions at the forefront of her mind. ‘What’s the vibe? What are the characters thinking? What key emotions are they expressing? Then I’ll do some writing around how I feel about it and what key information I need to express. And then I’ll start to do thumbnails. After that, I’ll sketch, go back to the detail, sketch the linework, go back to the writing, then start to work on the composition and colour. I deliberately set up the camera to show Rapunzel’s point of view: it’s far more powerful that way.’

RUNNER-UP – Iryna Dobrovetska

“I draw a lot of inspiration from Johannes Vermeer – his use of blue shades and burnt umber in the work The Art of Painting is just beautiful. But day to day it’s peaches and tea (from a William Morris mug, hence the jug you see here) that keep me going.”

Runner-up Iryna – whose glorious, haunting entry was also highly commended by the judges – is a Ukrainian illustrator who was forced to flee her homeland in 2022 and now lives in London. She cites everything from ‘the extraordinary realism of Roman and Hellenistic Greek sculpture, as well as the very primitive folk art and wooden toys of 15th to 17th century Europe’ as influences. ‘I draw inspiration from so much. I search everywhere, driven by a kind of hunger,’ she says.

Her creative process starts with analysing a text and finding the right composition through many small, quick sketches – first rough, then detailed and coloured. ‘Only after all these steps do I begin the final drawing in pencil, and then in watercolour.’ She also chose the moment when the witch cuts Rapunzel’s hair.

‘For me, Rapunzel wasn’t just a fairy tale but a tragic story about a betrayal that first led to enslavement and then to true love and sacrifice. It’s a truly terrifying story with very little optimism.’

RUNNER-UP – Chris Cooper

“Asterix and Obelix figurines are a feature of my working space, as I used to draw them obsessively as a kid. And music – you’ll usually find me immersed in the radio through over-ear headphones while I’m working on the linocut and digital process.”

Why is the Award so important to Folio? They are absolutely central to its mission, James points out. ‘We pride ourselves on commissioning real illustrators who create real illustrations. This can only come about through nurturing our connections and contacts within the illustration world and supporting illustrators, particularly those who are new or unseen, or just getting started. We have a responsibility to help them along as best we can and to engage with that community.’

It’s a wonderful two-way benefit: artists gain exposure through working with Folio, while Folio discovers new names and talents. ‘That’s always a lot of fun, because what an illustrator can bring to a project is utterly unique to the illustrator – demonstrated by the fact that those 880 entries are all entirely different,’ says James. ‘We have worked with not just the winners but also runners-up – and even with people who didn’t make it onto the longlist. Entrants remain on our radar even if we don’t have a project for them right then and there.’

Next year’s story has yet to be decided – but whatever it is, it will no doubt bring forth another flowering of creativity. Dawn says she has only one regret: having won this year, she can’t enter again. ‘But I’ll still create something! To me, the Award is like a festival, a carnival, an event – I’ve entered for the last four years and my favourite thing of all is when the longlisted entries are posted. It’s like talking with all these great artists just through their work.’

Photography: ©Dunja.Opalko