Rachel Harrison named winner of the 2026 Macmillan Prize for Illustration

Harrison's winning entry stood out among more than 330 submissions and was highly praised by judges as a “bold, punchy and accessible” tale of a bear on a quest to discover how to make himself appear less scary. Harrison is an illustrator and animator from North London, with a BA in Film Practice from London College of Communication and an MA in Illustration from Ravensbourne University London.

The Macmillan Prize has a historic reputation for identifying future industry stars. Notable alumni include Emily Gravett, Ross Collins, Lucy Cousins, Morag Hood, and Bethan Woollvin. More recently, 2022 Macmillan Prize alumnus Kate Rolfe went on to be shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and has just won the 2026 Carnegie Prize for Illustration for her picture book Wiggling Words. 

Second prize was awarded to Maddy Magee for A Storm is Coming!, and third prize went to Anna Ross for Bumpty Dumpty. Established in 1985, the Macmillan Prize awards £1,000 for first place, £500 for second, and £250 for third. It remains a vital industry powerhouse designed to discover talent and help non-professional illustrators take their first steps into the children's publishing industry. 

‘The images are deceptively simple, but convey so much amusing, child-friendly menace, and play so well alongside the deadpan text.’

— Chris Inns, Chair of Judges

Led by chair of judges, Chris Inns, Macmillan Children’s Books’ Art and Design Director, the 2026 judging panel comprised award-winning and bestselling illustrators Sara Ogilvie (The Detective Dog, Gozzle) and Sharon King-Chai (Starbird, Animalphabet). They were joined by writer, journalist and Sunday Times children’s book critic, Nicolette Jones, and Nick Campbell, Waterstones Children’s Campaign Manager. Also on the panel were Fiona Macmillan, Publisher Colour 0-6 years, Macmillan Children’s Books and Emily Ford, editorial director, picture books, Macmillan Children’s Books.

Chris Inns, Chair of Judges, said: 

'It was another delightful, strong year for the Macmillan Prize for Illustration. The energy and creative variety of the entries continue to amaze and impress. The range of different voices and subject matter set our excellent, esteemed judging panel a tough task to pick a winner. Rachel deserves her accolade, especially considering the level of the competition.

'This is a Bear entertained all the judges from the moment they saw it. The story begins with a caution and then invites you in to take part yourself – but watch out – it's best not to get too close! The images are deceptively simple, but convey so much amusing, child-friendly menace, and play so well alongside the deadpan text. The bold, punchy and witty images relay the story with a clarity and directness that make it an instantly accessible picture book. This is a fun story for children and adults alike, pitched in a sweet spot between scary and funny.'

Alison Ruane, managing director, Macmillan Children’s Books, said: 

'We are absolutely thrilled to name Rachel Harrison the winner of the 2026 Macmillan Prize for Illustration. Her wonderfully witty, bold, and striking work on This is a Bear completely captured the judges' hearts and perfectly exemplifies the exceptional, child-focused storytelling we love to champion.

Illustrated stories are at the very heart of what we publish at Macmillan Children’s Books, with several of our amazing visual storytellers winning awards for their brilliant titles. This week we celebrated Kate Rolfe winning the 2026 Carnegie Medal for Illustration, while Jeet Zdung's 2023 Carnegie success and Theo Parish’s 2025 Shadowers' Choice Award victory are but two examples of the top level illustration talent we publish.

Alongside these recent successes, we are incredibly proud to see that 8 out of 26 illustrators appearing in the upcoming Lowry exhibition Wild Things: Animals in Children's Books have been published by us. Such amazing representation in this exhibition is testament to illustration as an artform being at the very heart of what we do.

For over forty years, the Macmillan Prize has been a vital, industry-leading powerhouse for opening doors for non-professional illustrators and bringing fantastic new talent to the surface. We pride ourselves on being a home for world-class visual storytelling, and this prize has once again emphasised the incredible range of talent out there. Congratulations to Rachel and thank you to everyone who entered the competition.'

Rachel Harrison said: 

'I’m drawn to stories that sit somewhere between silly and slightly scary. For me, words usually come first, and then I make images to help figure out what on earth I was trying to say. My favourite stories are those where words and pictures don’t quite agree, and something funny emerges in that gap. I then look for a character to bring the story to life. I find this works best when the characters are not entirely sure they want to be in the story.

This Is A Bear came from a completely different story about a monkey that I spent weeks working on, only to realise it was a touch dull. Fortunately, it left behind the rhythm and language that became the foundation for this book. The bear’s origins are more mysterious. At some point, he snuck into my sketchbook and made himself at home, so I thought I’d better put him in a story. This Is A Bear takes a simple idea and worries it from every possible angle. It invites the reader to question their first impressions and decide whether a bear can ever really stop being a bear. As the story becomes increasingly ridiculous, I hope readers enjoy the absurdity and can have a laugh at the bear’s expense.

My work is created using digital collage, combining hand-made textures and marks that I scan in. I assemble them on the iPad like a paper-cut collage, cutting out shapes with my stylus as I would with scissors. I don’t really have the patience for glue sticks. 

Thank you to the judges for selecting me. Winning the Macmillan Prize for Illustration is a real honour and a very welcome surprise.'

‘We pride ourselves on being the premier home for world-class visual storytelling, and this prize has once again emphasized the incredible range of talent out there.’

— Alison Ruane - managing director, MCB

The 2017 winner of the prize, Elina Ellis, has recently published an adventurous and joyful picture book celebration of reading titled The Truth About Books, which dives into the wonder of books and stories. The book has timely importance as publishers, libraries and a huge range of other literacy advocates strive to boost literacy levels across the UK during the National Year of Reading.