Delivered by the AOI in partnership with USA-based Directory of Illustration, the Awards build on a 45-year tradition of the AOI organising juried survey competitions.

This high-profile competition is judged by distinguished professionals from the global illustration industry.

Commissioners value the Awards for identifying current trends and finding undiscovered talent, and illustrators value the connection and sense of community participating can bring.

The World Illustration Awards are open for submissions annually from December to February. The jury then evaluates submissions and choses the winners. Announcements made in May for the longlist, September for the shortlist and the Winners are announced in October.

Over the years, many shortlisted and winning illustrators have received significant, career boosting exposure through the awards.

Our 45-year Awards History

The AOI first ran an annual competition, called Images, in 1975 that was open to any British Illustrator. It was unique then, as the selection for the publication was made by a jury, selecting the best contemporary submissions each year to be published in the annual.

In 2012, Images was replaced by the AOI Illustration Awards. These ran for two years, before The AOI formed a partnership with the Directory of Illustration in the USA and created the World Illustration Awards in 2015.

Previous Images annuals and WIA Catalogues can be purchased here