Aditi Anand, who graduated from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) this summer, has been named as the winner of the Emerging Illustrator category at the prestigious V&A Illustration Awards.
Announced during a ceremony at the V&A’s famous art and design museum in South Kensington, Aditi’s success has capped a remarkable seven days for the MA in Children’s Book Illustration course at Anglia Ruskin University, which attracts students from all over the world.
Last week, 2022 graduate Kate Rolfe claimed the Children’s Publishing prize at the AOI’s World Illustration Awards for her book Wiggling Words, while 2019 graduate Kate Winter won the £5,000 Klaus Flugge Prize for her picture book The Fossil Hunter.
Aditi, who is from the Indian city of Karnal, north of Delhi, received the V&A award for her work Marigolds, which is set in India and addresses the theme of child labour and lost childhoods. This year the V&A awards received over 2,000 entries and Aditi was joined on the Emerging Illustrator shortlist by fellow ARU graduate Heike Scharrer.
The 25-year-old, who flew back to the UK from India for the awards ceremony, said: “I am extremely thrilled to have won the V&A Illustration Award for Marigolds and I am deeply honoured that the V&A has shown such respect for this theme by providing it with a platform and displaying it in the museum. I hope it offers readers a window into a world that may be very different from their own.
“This achievement would not have been possible without the remarkable Children’s Book Illustration team at Anglia Ruskin, and I am endlessly grateful for the support of my tutors and peers throughout my MA. Their guidance has been instrumental in shaping my visual language and uncovering my appreciation for stories that address difficult themes and possess strong emotional depth. I was consistently encouraged to experiment and embrace mistakes, free from judgment.”
After initially studying for a business degree, Aditi has no regrets about her change of direction, and she now has a literary agent to help her navigate the next stage of her career.
She added: “During my bachelor's degree in commerce and business, I discovered a creative outlet by working for the college magazine, which led me to develop an interest in books and publishing. I found great joy in reading picture books, and their powerful ability to convey ideas inspired me to explore children's book illustration. Switching fields has been the best decision I've ever made!
“I’m excited to further develop the books from my MA course with my brilliant agent, Neil Dunnicliffe, and to find the perfect home for them. I hope to see them in bookstores someday and, eventually, in the hands of young readers."
Aditi’s victory, which comes with a £3,000 prize, maintains an impressive run of success for ARU at the V&A Illustration Awards. Now held biennially, students and graduates from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration have won first prizes on each of the last seven occasions the awards have been held, dating back to 2016.
In addition to Aditi and Heike in the Emerging Illustrator category, ARU graduates Ella Beech, Bethan Welby, Lisa Sheehan and Olivia Daw were also shortlisted this year in the professional categories.
Shelley Jackson, Associate Professor and Course Leader for the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at ARU, said: “Aditi Anand is one of the most earnest and delightful students we’ve had the chance to work with, and her illustrations are just as warm and charming as she is.
“Her atmospheric work excels at drawing the viewer into the intimate moments of her characters. We think she is an excellent choice as V&A’s 2024 Emerging Illustrator and we can’t wait to see where Aditi’s career takes her.
“And just before Aditi’s success, we learned that Kate Rolfe had won an AOI World Illustration Award for her upcoming picture book Wiggling Words. Remarkably, Kate also won a V&A prize, the Student Illustrator of the Year, when the V&A awards were last held in 2022.
“It was such a pleasure watching Kate Rolfe’s book take shape on the MA course. It is a personal and meaningful project that she worked tirelessly on, and we’re so thrilled that it’s not only found its way to being published but also has been recognised for its uniqueness and excellence.”
