Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand, local children’s imprint Little Moa and the Margaret Mahy Estate are proud to announce the return of the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize for its seventh year.
Launched in 2019, the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize is one of New Zealand’s leading illustration prizes with over 1600 entries since its inception. 2024 winner Herb MacDonald’s fresh and fabulous take on Margaret Mahy’s classic The Great White Man Eating Shark (illustrations seen here) will be published in August this year.
The Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize creates a unique opportunity for an unpublished New Zealand-based artist to illustrate Mahy’s work and we are thrilled to announce that the 2025 title is the much-loved swashbuckling classic The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate. Originally published in 1972, this timeless tale is a hilarious pirate story and an ode to the sea.
Bridget Mahy, manager of the Mahy Estate says “Margaret lived next to the restless swell of the Pacific Ocean. She keenly observed the daily moods of a vast body of water that stretched out to meet the sky. Adventures abounded on the seas of Margaret’s imagination; she set her characters free from the confines of a relentlessly mundane job, allowing them to discover their true, spirited selves by singing, dancing, and sailing away on an ocean of possibility.”
Working with the Margaret Mahy Estate, Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand and Little Moa will award a $2000 cash prize, a $500 library of books and the
opportunity for this project to be developed into a published picture book.
The Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize was launched in 2019 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Mahy’s children’s picture book classic, A Lion in the Meadow. It has since become one of New Zealand’s leading illustration prizes, paving the way for ten emerging artists to have their illustrations published by Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand and Little Moa.
Register Below
Terms and Conditions
Important dates to note
Launch date Monday 24th March 2025
Entries close Thursday 24 July 2025
Finalists announced Thursday 21 August 2025 at 12pm
Winner announced Thursday 28 August 2025 at 12pm
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens after I register?
Once you register, we will send you everything you need to get started: story text, brief with rubric and a storyboard template.
While the illustration prize is running we will email you with helpful hints, tips and guidance from our publishing team and previous winners to help you formulate the strongest submission you can. The information provided in the emails will be a helpful guide for future submissions.
Why do you ask for a full storyboard and two final art spreads to be submitted?
With picture books, one strand of the story is told via words and the other through the art. The storyboard allows the judging team to see how you will tell the story from page to page, beginning to end.
The final art showcases your use of colour and space and the little details that indicate you know your audience.
Our aim is to publish a picture book the following year using the winning submission as the first step in the publishing process.
What happens if I win the illustration prize?
Our publisher will talk to you and the Mahy Estate about the opportunity to develop your submission into published work. When agreement between all parties is met, a publishing contract, with standard advances and royalties on top of the prize money, will be offered.
You will also receive $2000 cash and $500 worth of Hachette books.
Are there further opportunities?
Since the inception of the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize in 2019, we have published all five illustration prize winners:
- 2019 winner Sarah Greig, The Boy With Two Shadows
- 2020 winner Lily Emo, The Boy Who Made Things Up
- 2021 winner Minrui Yang, There’s a King in the Cupboard
- 2022 winner Jessica Twohill, The Witch in the Cherry Tree
- 2023 winner Alba Gil Celdrán, 17 Kings and 42 Elephants
All entrants are considered for further illustration projects. See below for details.
- 2021: The Fairies’ Night Before Christmas, illustrated by Sarah Greig
#1 NZ Children’s bestseller
Smith and Caughey’s Christmas Window
Inspiration for The Coaltion For Books 2021 Christmas Catalogue - 2021: A Stick and A Stone, illustrated by 2019 Runner Up, Hilary Jean Tapper
Published in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the USA.
Foreign language rights sold to Turkish publisher - 2022: Hachette Australia contracted Hilary Jean Tapper to illustrate What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say, written by the award winning Davina Bell
- 2022: The Fairies’ Night Before Christmas Activity Book, illustrated by Sarah Greig
Also available in te reo Māori, Ngā Ponimatarau me te Pō i Mua i te Kirihimete He Puka Ngohe - 2022: The Chaos Before Christmas, illustrated by Lily Emo
Smith and Caughey’s Christmas Window
Featured on Seven Sharp
Foreign Language Rights sold to Polish Publisher - 2023: The Fairies’ Easter Egg Surprise, illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper
- 2023: Hachette Australia have contracted Hilary Jean Tapper to illustrate the sequel to What To Say When You Don't Know What To Say.
- 2023: The Gnomes’ Very Berry Christmas, illustrated by Minrui Yang
- 2024: The New Zealand Easter Activity Book, illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper
- 2024: The Very Best Words, illustrated by 2021 and 2022 Runner Up Sarah Trolle
- 2024: Let Me Be Frank, illustrated by Minrui Yang
- 2024: Miles and Jones: The Anaconda Attack, illustrated by 2020 and 2022 Runner Up Cesar Lador
- 2025: Miles and Jones: The Blizzard of Blobs, illustrated by 2020 and 2022 Runner Up Cesar Lador
There are more in the works, so watch this space.
