Portfolios Showcase and Tomie dePaola Award for Illustrators

Our annual Winter Portfolio Showcase will be held on Friday, January 31, 2025 in New York, New York. This award is a career-launching opportunity for children's book illustrators! This juried showcase is a terrific way to get your illustrations in front of the top publishing professionals working today.

Portfolios are judged as a whole, not on any individual image. The judges are looking for:

• Children’s book publishing appropriateness.
• Consistency of a strong illustrative “voice” throughout.
• Fresh and unique styles.

SCBWI reserves the right not to award any prizes at its sole discretion.

The 2025 Winter New York Conference will have many career-shifting opportunities for illustrators! 

Read below for details on how to enter your work in the Portfolio Showcase and how to be considered for the awards. Participants will have their work viewed by industry professionals and award winners will have their work on display at the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. 

The New York Winter Conference Portfolio Showcase includes a special opportunity to be considered for the Tomie dePaola Mentorship Award (scroll down for more info)! This six-month illustration mentorship will allow mentees to work with art directors to move their art to the next level. We hope you will take advantage of this special opportunity.

The Portfolio Showcase is open to all conference attendees who are PREMIUM MEMBERS. There is an additional $100 fee to participate.

Please read through these requirements carefully.

• Each portfolio showcase participant must read the online release form at registration check-out and check the box indicating approval before completing their registration. 
• Portfolios must be the participant’s own artwork.

Drop off and Pick Up

• All portfolios must be dropped off on Friday, January 31 between 12pm and 1pm at the Grand Ballroom Foyer of the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel. 
• You must pick up your portfolio in the Grand Ballroom Foyer between 7:45pm and 9pm on Friday, January 31. (During or immediately after the Portfolio Browse). SCBWI is not responsible for any portfolios or promotional materials left behind. 

What to exhibit:

Portfolio, promotional postcards, dummy (optional)

Portfolio:

• You must be a Premium Member to enter the Portfolio Showcase
• Your name and contact information must be in or on your portfolio. Please indicate if you are represented by an agent. This helps industry professionals as they browse during the Portfolio Showcase.
• The portfolio you submit must be your own artwork. You may not submit artwork that was created by someone else.
• The artwork within your portfolio may not be created with AI. Portfolios that do not follow this guideline will not be considered for awards. Please review the SCBWI Policy on AI
• Only one (1) portfolio permitted
• Standard format only. Please submit portfolios within the guidelines listed below to be allowed entry into the Portfolio Showcase.
• Measurements when opened: Maximum width: 34 inches max. Maximum height: 17 inches max.
• Closed portfolio: 3 inches tall max.
• 10–15 images suggested
• Copies or prints only; no original art

PLEASE NOTE: Portfolios that do not follow these requirements will be disqualified from prize consideration.

Business or Promotional Cards:

• Size: up to 5” x 7” vertical or horizontal
• 100 cards suggested
• Only one stack of cards will be placed beside the portfolio
• No cardholders permitted
• Bring cards in a disposable plastic bag or bound by a rubber band.

Dummy Book:

• One or two are permitted
• Optional, not a requirement
• Dummy may not, in any way, be a partially or fully published book.
• Dummy must be attached to your portfolio (string, yarn, and ribbon work well).
• The dummy may or may not include your own writing. Please do give author credit where credit is due.
• The dummy is simply an opportunity to display your ability to create a children’s book.
• This can be an addition to your portfolio, not a replacement for your portfolio.

Please note what IS NOT PERMITTED on the table:

The following items are not allowed to be submitted to be placed on the table:

●     Oversized portfolios (whether oversized in length, width, or height).

●     Non-secured portfolios (images not securely attached to the portfolio).

●     Original art

●     Framed art

●     Published books are not allowed on the table.

●     3-D art

●     Easels, stands, or props of any kind. Nothing vertical off of the table.

●     Portfolios in unusual novelty formats, such as boxes.

Follow the rules and let your artwork shine!

Questions?

Please email TeMika Grooms at temikagrooms@scbwi.org.

Special showcase opportunity at the International Bologna Book Fair for each of the winners!

We have added a new element to the Portfolio Showcase prizes! One image from the Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners’ portfolios will be displayed in a special showcase in the SCBWI booth at the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair along with their name, website, and country of origin. **There will be more than 30,000 people and 1500 exhibitors from 100 countries at this renowned book fair.**

1 Gold Award (1) winner will receive:

• Two phone/virtual meetings with art directors/agents who will provide guidance and feedback on your portfolio,
• Free admission to the next in-person New York Conference (room and airfare not included),
• A one year renewal of your SCBWI membership, and
• Two images from your portfolio will be showcased in the SCBWI booth at the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

1 Silver Award winner will receive:

• Two phone/virtual meetings with art directors/agents who will provide guidance and feedback on your portfolio,
• A one year renewal of your SCBWI membership, and
• One image from your portfolio will be showcased  in the SCBWI booth at the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. 

2 Bronze Award winners will receive:

• One phone/virtual meeting with an art director or agent who will provide guidance and feedback on your portfolio.
• One image from the winner’s portfolio will be showcased in the SCBWI booth at the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. 

The showcase winners and honor recipients will be announced at the Welcome and Awards session on Sunday, February 2nd.

Judges will choose three illustrators whose work shows strong craftsmanship and a fresh distinct voice with a clear potential for narrative illustration. These winners will receive mentorship from members of the SCBWI Illustration Committee, industry leaders who will advise them through feedback/revision on craft and process, and eventually help promote their work in the publishing industry. 

Criteria: 

Illustrators must be unpublished or early-career (no more than two traditionally published books). To be eligible for this award, applicants must attend the 2025 In-Person New York Winter Conference and participate in the Portfolio Showcase.

How to apply:

SCBWI premium members must first sign up for the 2025 In-Person New York Winter Conference and register for the Portfolio Showcase. At registration, attendees will be given two choices: either to apply ONLY for the Portfolio Showcase or to submit their work to BOTH the Portfolio Showcase and the Tomie dePaola Award. By filling in the submission box marked “Portfolio Showcase with Tomie dePaola Mentorship Award Consideration,” they attest that they are eligible and wish to be considered for the Tomie dePaola Award. Members may then follow the rest of the instructions of the Portfolio Showcase as usual and bring a physical copy of their portfolio to the conference in New York. The Portfolio Showcase and the Tomie de Paola Mentorship Award will be considered separately by two different panels of judges. It is possible for one attendee to win multiple awards.

Announcement:

The winners of the Tomie dePaola Mentorship Award will be announced from the main stage of the New York Winter Conference on the morning of Saturday, February 1. The winners will then be invited to that afternoon’s Awards Lunch, where they will have the opportunity to meet their mentors and learn more about the mentorship process. (The Portfolio Award winners will be announced separately, from the main stage on Sunday morning.) 

Q: If I'm already registered for the conference, how do I add the Portfolio Showcase to my registration?

A:  Make sure you are logged on to the site. Go to the Winter Conference page and hit the Register button. The registration form will show you everything you are already registered for and allow you to add the portfolio showcase or a consultation. After selecting the sessions you want to add, you will then be directed to the payment page.

Q:  Am I required to include my agent’s name and contact information in my portfolio?

A:  You are not required to include your agent’s name and contact information. 

However, it is good practice to include this information in the event another agent, editor, or art director is interested in talking with you about a book project.  They may reach out to that person first to get in contact with you.  You may include your agent’s information on your business or promotional card that will be on display by your portfolio.

Q:  Can we include artwork in our portfolio from a book that is already published? 

A:  We understand your best work is often your finished, published illustrations.  We encourage you to label your artwork with the title of the book, author and publisher if you decide to include it in your portfolio.  Additionally, it is valuable to have written permission from the publisher that you are allowed to share the work publicly.

Here is the reason why:  The SCBWI Portfolio Showcase Awards are an industry recognized honor for the winners and honorees.  After the judging takes place, the artwork will be displayed in association with the conference to highlight the artist’s accomplishment. For this reason, you must have the right to market artwork included in your portfolio.  If you include published artwork in your portfolio, please label it appropriately and be prepared to provide documentation of permission to use the work for marketing purposes as the artists, should you be chosen as a winner or honoree.

Q:  Can I submit a portfolio created with artwork developed with artificial intelligence (A.I.) ? 

A:  The artwork within your portfolio may not be created with AI. Portfolios that do not follow this guideline will not be considered for awards. Please review the SCBWI Policy on AI

Q:  How do I enter my portfolio for the Tomie dePaolo Mentorship Award? 

A: When you register for the in-person New York Winter Conference you will be able to click the box to indicate that you want your portfolio to be considered for the award. Your portfolio will receive a sticker indicating your are being considered when you drop off your portfolio on January 25, 2025.