Organizer Information
Apila Ediciones is an independent Spanish publishing house specializing in high-quality illustrated children's books and picture books. Since its founding, the publisher has focused on discovering emerging illustration talent and promoting innovative visual storytelling for young readers. Through its annual Apila’s First Printing Award (Premio Apila Primera Impresión), the organization has become an important platform for debut illustrators seeking their first professionally published picture book. The award is organized in collaboration with the Aragon School of Design (Escuela Superior de Diseño de Aragón) and receives support from the Zaragoza City Council, reflecting a shared commitment to fostering artistic education, literary creation, and the development of new voices in children's publishing. Now in its fourteenth edition, the competition has helped launch numerous illustration careers by offering winners professional publishing contracts, editorial guidance, international distribution, and exposure within the global children's book industry. The initiative encourages originality, craftsmanship, and storytelling while emphasizing the importance of human creativity by prohibiting the use of generative artificial intelligence in submitted illustrations.
Title & Description
Apila’s First Printing Award 2027
Call for Apila’s First Printing Award 2027 invites unpublished illustrators from around the world to submit original children's picture book projects for an opportunity to publish their first professionally produced book. The international competition aims to encourage emerging illustrators who have not yet published a children's book with an ISBN through a publishing house.
Participants may submit original stories or adaptations of works that are in the public domain, provided the text is written in either Spanish or English. Collaborative projects between writers and illustrators are also accepted, although the illustrator must meet the eligibility requirements regarding publication history. Projects should demonstrate strong narrative development through illustration and should be designed as complete picture books of no more than 40 pages.
Applications must be submitted digitally as a single PDF file containing either the complete finished book or a layout featuring at least five fully illustrated double-page spreads, while the remaining pages may be presented as sketches. This approach allows emerging illustrators to present projects still in development while demonstrating the artistic direction and storytelling quality.
A defining feature of the 2027 competition is its strict commitment to original artistic creation. The use of generative artificial intelligence tools—including Midjourney, DALL·E, Stable Diffusion, or similar software—for creating, editing, or completing illustrations is strictly prohibited. Every submitted illustration must be created entirely by human artistic skill and creativity, and any evidence of AI-generated imagery will result in immediate disqualification.
Rather than offering only a monetary prize, the competition provides a complete publishing opportunity. The winning project will become a professionally published children's picture book distributed internationally by Apila Ediciones, giving an emerging illustrator an exceptional opportunity to launch a professional career in children's publishing.
Categories
- Children's Book Illustration
- Picture Book
- Illustration
- Visual Arts
- Publishing
- Children's Literature
- Graphic Storytelling
Eligibility
- Open to illustrators of all nationalities.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
- The illustrator must not have published any children's book with an ISBN through a publishing house before June 30, 2026.
- Self-published books with an ISBN are permitted only if they were not published through a publishing house or editorial services company.
- Collaborative projects between an author and illustrator are eligible, provided the illustrator satisfies the publication requirements.
- Submitted works must be original, unpublished, and free from third-party rights commitments.
- Projects must be written in Spanish or English.
- Original stories or copyright-free adaptations are accepted.
- Multiple submissions are permitted.
- Illustrations created wholly or partially using generative AI are not eligible.
Program Benefits & Awards
- A professional publishing contract with Apila Ediciones.
- €4,000 advance payment, representing 10% of the value of the first print run.
- Professional publication of the winning picture book.
- International promotion and distribution.
- Editorial production and publication by an established children's publisher.
- International management of publishing rights by Apila Ediciones for twelve years.
- Significant visibility through the publisher's promotional channels.
- Potential exhibition of selected submitted projects through the Aragon School of Design exhibition program.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 14 February 2027
- Award Announcement: March 2027
- Final publication files due from winner: 1 September 2027
- Publication: During the 2027 edition of the award program
Location
Zaragoza, Spain
Additional Details
- Projects may contain a maximum of 40 pages (20 double-page spreads), including title and copyright pages as well as endpapers.
- Covers (front cover, spine, and back cover) are not included in the 40-page limit.
- The submitted PDF may consist of a finished book or a partially completed layout featuring at least five finished double-page spreads, with the remaining pages presented as sketches.
- Entries must be entirely created by human authors without any use of generative AI during illustration creation, editing, or completion.
- A jury composed of representatives from Apila Ediciones, the Aragon School of Design, and professionals from education, design, and communication will evaluate submissions.
- The jury reserves the right to declare the award void if no submission meets the required standard.
- Selected entries may be included in exhibitions organized by the Aragon School of Design.
- The winning publication will prominently display that it received the Premio Apila Primera Impresión.
- Participation constitutes full acceptance of all competition rules and publication conditions, including the transfer of publishing rights under the terms established in the publishing contract.