Silva Award 2027 Picture Book Competition [€2,000 + Publishing Contract]: Submit by June 14

Silva Literary Agency and Tudem Publishing Group are inviting completed, unpublished picture books for children aged 3–6. The winner will receive €2,000, a publishing contract with Tudem Publishing Group and representation by Silva Literary Agency.

Click here to read the official call and submission guidelines.

About the Silva Award

The Silva Award is an international competition created to discover and support original, thoughtful and imaginative children’s picture books.

The award is organised by Silva Literary Agency in association with Tudem Publishing Group. Tudem has organised children’s and young-adult literature awards in Türkiye for more than 20 years.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must satisfy the following conditions:

• Participants must be at least 18 years old.
• Creators of any nationality may participate.
• Entries may be submitted by individuals or teams.
• For an individual entry, the applicant must have at least one previously published book.
• For a team entry, at least one member must have at least one previously published book.
• None of the creators may currently be represented by a literary agency.
• None of the creators may be under contract with a publishing house.
• Employees of Tudem, Silva Literary Agency and their affiliates—and their immediate family members—cannot participate.

Participation is free, and no entry fee is required.

Categories Accepted

The competition accepts:

• Fiction picture books
• Non-fiction picture books
• Text-based picture books
• Silent or wordless books in which illustrations tell the complete story
• Projects created by individuals
• Collaborative projects created by teams

Every submission must be suitable for children aged 3–6 years.

Submission Requirements

• The work must be complete and unpublished.
• The project must contain finished artwork—not sketches or incomplete illustrations.
• Text-based entries must not exceed 4,500 characters, including spaces.
• The entire picture book, including front and back covers, must not exceed 40 pages.
• The submission must be in English.
• Wordless picture books may be submitted without text.
• Each participant or team may submit only one project.
• The same project may be submitted only once.
• The work must not have previously received a prize or honourable mention in another national or international competition.
• Entries must not be under consideration through a publishing or literary-representation contract.
• Pop-up books are not eligible.
• AI-generated text or illustrations are prohibited.
• The story, text and illustrations must be entirely original.

Click here to download the complete Terms and Conditions.

Anonymous Submission Rules

The book PDF will be evaluated anonymously. Participants must create a nickname that:

• Contains exactly five characters.
• Does not include or resemble their real name, surname, initials or pseudonym.
• Does not form a recognisable word or name.
• Reveals no information about the creator’s identity.

The participant’s real name or identifying information must not appear anywhere inside the book PDF—including its cover, pages, credits, copyright notice or filename.

Entries that violate the anonymity requirements will be automatically disqualified.

File Requirements

• The complete work must be submitted as a single PDF.
• The PDF must not exceed 10 MB.
• It must contain the full text and finished illustrations.
• The filename must include the five-character nickname and book title.

Example:

ABCDE-TitleoftheWork.pdf

Documents Required

The submission email must contain:

1. A single PDF of the completed picture book.
2. The completed and signed Identity Form and Letter of Commitment.
3. A short biography of the creator or each team member.

The Identity Form must be submitted as a separate attachment and must not be included inside the anonymous book PDF.

Click here to download the Identity Form and Letter of Commitment.

Prize

One winner will receive:

• €2,000 cash award
• A publishing contract with Tudem Publishing Group
• A representation contract with Silva Literary Agency

For a team entry, the €2,000 payment will be made to one team member designated in the Identity Form. Distribution of the prize among team members will be their responsibility.

Language Requirement for the Winner

Initial submissions must be in English.

After selection, the winner must provide the text in both:

• An official language of the creator’s country of origin; and
• English.

The original-language text must be prepared by the author, while the English translation must be completed by a human translator. Machine- or AI-generated translations are not permitted.

This requirement does not apply to wordless picture books.

Jury

Entries will be evaluated by:

• Barroux
• Rob Hodgson
• Zeynep Özatalay

Submissions will be judged on originality, creativity, visual storytelling, artistic quality, narrative strength and suitability for children aged 3–6.

Copyright and Contract Conditions

Creators retain copyright in their work.

However, the winner must sign the announced publishing and representation agreements. The official terms provide Silva Literary Agency with representation rights for the winning work for ten years and grant Tudem Publishing Group specified Turkish-language publishing rights.

Applicants should read the complete contractual provisions in the Terms and Conditions before submitting their work.

How to Submit?

Participants must email their completed entry to:

Email: competition@tudem.com

Before emailing:

1. Prepare the complete, anonymous picture-book PDF.
2. Check the 40-page and 10 MB limits.
3. Name the file using the prescribed nickname-title format.
4. Complete and sign the Identity Form and Letter of Commitment.
5. Prepare a short creator biography.
6. Attach all three required items and email them before the deadline.

Submissions sent through post, social media or other channels will not be accepted.

Important Dates

• Submission deadline: June 14, 2027, at 11:59 PM GMT+3
• Winner announcement: September 2027

For participants in India, the deadline corresponds to June 15, 2027, at 2:29 AM IST. Submitting well before June 14 is advisable.

Click here to visit the official Silva Award 2027 page.