Illustrator of the Year
Illustrator of the Year Winner and Shortlist
The shortlist for Illustrator of the Year sees Dav Pilkey return following a record-breaking year. He is joined by Huw Aaron and Mikey Please, both of whom had a breakout 2025. Emily Gravett, Ingela P Arrhenius and Tom Percival complete the shortlist. Six different illustrators, but one unifying theme: their commitment to getting books into children’s hands.
Winner
Dav Pilkey
Last year was a landmark 12 months for graphic novelist Dav Pilkey, who has been delighting children and adults alike for nearly four decades with his inimitable Dog Man and Captain Underpants series. As a neurodiverse creator, Pilkey fosters inclusivity and has proudly made ADHD and dyslexia his superpowers.
He is an important role model not only for his approach to creativity, but also for what his books celebrate: the power of friendship, goodness and fun. And they are clearly resonating. Pilkey closed the year as the second-bestselling author and illustrator and achieved his first overall number-one bestseller when Dog Man: Big Jim Believes debuted at the top of the chart.
There are currently 14 books in the Dog Man series and Pilkey shows no signs of stopping. His bold artwork complements his adventurous and humorous storytelling; his books provide a much-needed light, telling the stories that children cannot wait to get their hands on and reminding everyone of the joy of reading.
The Shortlist
Dav Pilkey
2025 was Dav Pilkey’s biggest year on record, closing the year as the second bestselling illustrator and one of five authors who sold more than £10m of books. A neurodiverse creator, Pilkey celebrates imagination and creativity in his inimitable Dog Man and Captain Underpants series, published with Scholastic. The former achieved a record-breaking 50% growth and eight titles from the series featured in the UK Top 50 Children’s Bestseller Chart. The Dog Man film hit cinemas last year and in December the UK tour of Dog Man: The Musical was announced. Pilkey has created a series that children love, and he is committed to reaching as many readers as possible, ensuring a proportion of his event tickets are made free through charity partners.
Emily Gravett
Emily Gravett’s first book was published in 2005: today, her books with Two Hoots have been sold into 40 languages, and millions of copies have sold across the world. Last year marked two decades since the publication of Gravett’s debut, and she has since gone from strength to strength,with a career marked by critical and commercial acclaim. The 2025 hardback publication of Bear’s Nap was reprinted shortly after release, while the paperback edition of Bothered by Bugs saw a 50% sales uplift on her previous outing. The Welsh production company Theatr Iolo renewed the rights to continue performing their dramatisation of Gravett’s Tidy and a partnership with the National Trust saw Gravett speak to 1,000 children.
Huw Aaron
Huw Aaron broke into the wider UK publishing market last year after a decade spent working with Welsh publishers and at his own publishing company, with the aim of revolutionising picture books and comics in Welsh. His imaginative picture book Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob published in March with Puffin and his graphic novel, Unfairies, followed swiftly after. Blob was the biggest debut picture book of the year, and Unfairies was the first graphic novel to be selected for the Waterstones Children's Book of the Month slot. Aaron created blob-tastic bookshop window displays for an indie in Bristol and a Waterstones in Wales. A school tour in October and a feature on CBeebies Bedtime Story made Aaron and his lovable blob standout.
Ingela P Arrhenius
In 2025, Nosy Crow published Ingela P Arrhenius’ 79th book in nine years. Her baby and toddler books have become a real boon for parents encouraging an early love of reading in their children, and she is the second preschool illustrator to break into the UK TCM Top 10. Last year, Arrenhius broke new ground, publishing her first touch-and-feel books with the This Little… series and the standout Fold-Out + Play: Doll’s House, also shortlisted for Children’s Non-Fiction & Illustrated. This new book encourages play and reading, functioning as both a story and a doll house. It celebrates Arrenhius’ ethos that “as an illustrator, your role is to invite the child into your book”.
Mikey Please
2025 was a breakthrough year for BAFTA award-winning animator and illustrator Mikey Please. His debut picture book, The Café at the Edge of the Woods, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, took home the Waterstones Children’s Book of the Year Award. The Waterstones exclusive edition became the retailer’s highest selling of the Book of the Year winning titles. HarperCollins Children’s Books created a real cafe at the edge of the woods with Queen's Wood Cafe and Please participated in a multitude of events including a virtual school event that reached 6,000 children.
Tom Percival
Tom Percival published four books in 2025 including Sammy Feels Shy (Bloomsbury) – also shortlisted for Children’s Non-Fiction & Illustrated – and his sales increased a whopping 112% in volume and 41% in value. Across 36 languages, Percival crossed a milestone: two million books sold globally. He was recognised for his advocacy work, awarded the Ruth Rendell Award for Services to Literacy. For the paperback edition of The Wrong Shoes, published with Simon & Schuster and in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, Percival worked with NLT Trust hubs and primary schools. “All that I want anyone to take away from my books is that you can do it,” said Percival. “You can do whatever it is that you want to do.”
