The results of the V&A Illustration Awards have been announced, and I’m happy to share here that I’ve won the 2020 V&A Book Illustration Award for Hansel & Gretel: A Nightmare in Eight Scenes by the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, published by Design for Today (Joe Pearson) with book design by Laurence Beck.
It’s a wonderful outcome for a project that started back in 2017 when Simon wrote a reinvention of the fairy tale as the text/libretto for a music theatre production commissioned by the Goldfield Ensemble that I directed.
Set in a war zone, the story took a completely different tone to the original by the Grimm Brothers when Simon changed the impetus for Hansel and Gretel’s journey from that of abandonment by feckless parents, to an agonised decision by a loving father and mother to send their children away from the bombings. Even before the premiere at the 2018 Cheltenham Music Festival I’d begun work preparing images for the illustrated edition of the poem, which was published in 2019. The beautiful book that resulted from the collaboration with Simon, Joe and Laurence was ample reward for the hard work, but the V&A award is the cherry on the cake.
Copies of the book may be purchased from Design for Today,
…
Clive Hicks-Jenkins' Artlog: 
Pingback: “And the award goes to” – kevywevy
Congratulations!
Thank you, John.
May your cakes forever be FULL of cherries, with no witches,(or other malevolant creatures) lurking nearby.
ENJOY!!
Huge hugs with HUGE Congrats!!
B xxx
Clive, that’s wonderful news and well-deserved! I am so glad I got to see you and Peter and the live performance in the Broadway Theatre, Letchworth as well.
Wendy (in isolation in Cambridge) xx
Gosh, where has the time gone? Glad to hear you’re well. We too are in isolation. You can’t be too cautious with this one.
Thank you for your good wishes. It was quite a surprise to win.
Huge congratulations Clive,
so well deserved. Lots of love Krystina x
Thank you, Krystina. Sending love to you and your family. Stay safe.
Many many congratulations!so well deserved!
>
Maura, thank you so much.
Well done! Is it possible to trace the early influences of your cover all the way back to the days when you used to cut out cardboard theatre figures from the treasure hour series I wonder?
Ha ha! Well I’m quite sure it is. I loved those Treasure Hour Toy Theatres. (Especially ‘The Rustlers of Rocky Ranch’!)
Thrilled to bits for you Clive, what terrific news 😊. I’ve always loved this book, the words and images crackle and fizz together with such energy, every page is a joy. The prize is so well deserved, congratulations 🥳 xx
Thank you Phil. Your support throughout the long project was hugely appreciated. Moreover your beautiful design work on the stage production definitely carried over into the book. That Witch’s gingerbread house is all yours! I’d intended in the book to use the sinister, bone-white building-block house/incinerator you created for the show (it was SOOO good), but in the end it was the faux-gingerbread cottage (that you also made) which made it through to the finished version. It was the perfect combination of gemütlich and sinister and worked so well on the page. Brilliant. I know you’d say that you’ve been inspired as an artist by my work, but I want you to know that it goes both ways, because you inspire me, too! XXX
Thank you dear Clive, that’s very touching to read 😊 xx
Congratulations, Clive ~ a well-deserved accolade!
Stephen
Stephen Holmgren
stephenholmgren@me.com blog: http://www.towardbeauty.org book: Ethics After Easter
>
Congratulations, Mr.Clive! Well deserved. The illustrations look magnificently warm.
Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
¡¡¡ ENHORABUENA !!!
Thank you so much, Maria. My love to you and Javier, Stay safe and well. XXXXX
We’re so happy for you you clever old thing! There is no one more deserving than you, how proud we are to know you! With much love from hot and sunny France xxL
Oh how I wish we were there with you cooking, drawing, pottering, talking and having a wonderful time together. Love, love and yet more love winging your way.