The China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF) is glad to announce that a new edition of its Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition is open to entries from 28 March to 09 June 2025.
The Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition is an international illustration contest held annually as part of the China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF). Since its creation in 2015, the competition has been providing a venue for emerging illustrators to showcase their talent. It aims to build bridges between them and children's publishers, both locally and globally. In so doing it has given fresh life to China's children's book industry. The Golden Pinwheel is not merely a standalone competition—it is a comprehensive programme which includes exhibitions, an illustrated yearbook and a variety of promotional campaigns.
Since 2023, the organising committee has launched a new category—Commercial, in addition to the original submission category—Book Publishing, so as to encourage illustrators to demonstrate their commercial value through diversified forms of artistic expression, and to promote communication and cooperation with brands and advertisers.
In the last edition, after a two-month submission campaign, the competition received an amazing number of 14,067 artworks created by 2,228 artists from 72 countries and territories.
In order to give recognition to the most talented artists in the competition, the 2025 Golden Pinwheel is offering a wide array of awards: Grand Award (China), Grand Award (International), Special Mentions and People's Choice Award.
All finalists and winners will be featured in 2025 CCBF Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition Yearbook, which will also be presented at the Golden Pinwheel Illustration Exhibition held at the book fair from 14 to 16 November at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Centre (SWEECC).
Beyond that, one of the award-winners will be chosen by the CCBF Organising Committee to design the key visual of the 2026 edition of the book fair. This new image will be an integral part of the fair's visual communication for a whole year, including its use on our website, social media, gifts, and in advertisement campaigns.
Faithful to its core objective, the Golden Pinwheel Competition has shaped its prizes and distinctions on providing unique and distinctive opportunities to its participants. As an example, the winner of Grand Award (China) in Book Publishing Category will be invited to attend the 2026 edition of the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair (BCBF), and the winner of Grand Award (International) in Book Publishing Category will receive an invitation to the 2026 China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair (CCBF). Both invitations include a flight ticket and full accommodation, covered by the event organiser. The winner of the Grand Award in Commercial Category will receive a commercial contract worth CNY 5,000 (tax included) for CCBF derivative products. The invited artists will have the opportunity to participate as guests in various illustration-related activities taking place at the fair.
The 2025 Golden Pinwheel Jury is a highly esteemed group of individuals carefully selected for their expertise and cultural backgrounds. Comprised of renowned illustrators, publishers, and editors from around the world, this jury brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse perspectives to the table. In 2025, the Golden Pinwheel Book Publishing Category Jury is formed by renowned illustrator, picture book author, publisher, scholar, art director; President, Hankwon Publishing Company; Vice President, KBBY Namjung Kim (Republic of Kerea), Member of the Animation Arts Committee of the China Artists Association, Professor at Guangxi Arts University Pan Liping (China), Illustrator, Author Alessandro Sanna (Italy), Illustrator Leo Timmers (Belgium), and Managing Director and Editor in Chief, Xiron Books Wei Ling (China). In addition, Professor Emeritus, Parsons School of Design, Steven Guarnaccia (USA), Art Director, Magazin Verlagsgesellschaft Süddeutsche Zeitung mbH Birthe Steinbeck (Germany)complete the Golden Pinwheel Commercial Category Jury with their expertise.
All members share a deep understanding of illustration, writing, art direction, advertising, and brand development. The Jury will also be in charge of choosing the winners of the prizes and distinctions designed to give recognition to the most talented artists in the competition.
