NEW YORK, NY (October 21, 2024)—Little, Brown Book for Young Readers has selected artist Felipe Ortiz as the winner of the seventh annual Little, Brown Emerging Artist Award. This year’s judge and mentor is New York Times bestselling and 2024 Caldecott Medal-winning author and illustrator, Vashti Harrison. The award, established in 2018, seeks to recognize a previously unpublished creator whose work amplifies and portrays a distinct and diverse cultural point of view, identity, or background. The program also provides valuable mentorship by an acclaimed illustrator and a group of children’s book professionals.
Felipe Ortiz is a Mexican American illustrator based in Dallas, Texas. They graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, where they studied illustration, and their comics work has been exhibited in New York City and Prague. They are continuing their studies to become a background painter in the animation industry.
On receiving the 2024 Little, Brown Emerging Artist Award, Ortiz shared, “My Little Village was inspired by my memories of family trips to Mexico, as well as the years when we weren’t able to visit due to economic hardship. As I grew up, I realized this is a common experience among children of immigrants, so I wanted to create an immersive story that children experiencing the same thing could relate to while celebrating the beauty of the region where my parents were born.”
Said judge and mentor, Vashti Harrison, “Felipe’s portfolio showcases a thoughtful use of color and texture, creating bold and expressive scenes that are perfectly suited for picture books. Their keen eye for balance and depth brings dynamic, visually captivating compositions to life. Felipe’s picture book dummy for My Little Village demonstrates a lovely mixture of sophisticated painting techniques with soft forms and sweet characters that will be sure to draw children in. With such a strong foundation, I am confident Felipe is poised to make a colorful splash in the picture book world.”
ABOUT THE LITTLE, BROWN EMERGING ARTISTS AWARD:
Qualifying submissions for the Little, Brown Emerging Artist Award draw from the rich cultural experiences of this country—whether they manifest in character, theme, setting, or plot, or are derived simply from the artist’s own experience of identity. This includes literal or metaphorical inclusion of characters of underrepresented ethnicity, religious background, gender identity, class, mental or physical disability, or of any other nondominant population.
The individual who submits the most accomplished picture book idea, in the form of a mock-up, is honored with a mentorship with a professional children’s book design and editorial team and distinguished artist mentor. The winner will also have their submission reviewed by the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial team for possible future publication. Additional prizing for the Emerging Artist Award includes an American Express Gift Card in the amount of $1,500 and a portfolio review by the artist mentor and LBYR publishing staff.
Previous winners include Jin Xiaojing, whose debut picture book, I Miss My Grandpa, went on to be named a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book in 2019, as well as Cathy Wu, whose debut Popo and Meimei Can Help is scheduled to release in April 2024.
Artists must be previously unpublished and not currently represented by a publishing agent. One winner will be selected by a panel of three representatives from the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers editorial team along with an artist mentor. Submissions are judged based on the quality of their text, art, and storytelling; the incorporation of diversity; and the originality and creativity of their work. For more information and to enter, artists may visit LBArtistAward.com.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS YEAR’S WINNER, FELIPE ORTIZ:
Website: https://felipeortiz.myportfolio.com/
IG: @bluemyst0
ABOUT THIS YEAR’S JUDGE AND MENTOR, VASHTI HARRISON:
Vashti Harrison is the New York Times bestselling creator of Big, which was awarded the 2024 Caldecott Medal, a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor, in addition to being a National Book Award finalist. Vashti is also the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends, and the illustrator of Lupita Nyong’o’s Sulwe (for which she received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor), Matthew A. Cherry’s Hair Love, Andrea Beaty's I Love You Like Yellow, and Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic’s Hello, Star, among others. A two-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children, Vashti lives in Brooklyn, New York, and invites you to visit her at vashtiharrison.com or on Instagram and X @vashtiharrison.
ABOUT LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS:
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is a division of Hachette Book Group, a leading U.S. general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group, Grand Central Publishing, Hachette Audio, Hachette Books, Hachette Nashville, Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit, Running Press Group, and Workman Publishing. For more information, visit hachettebookgroup.com.