Penguin Books has announced the shortlist for its latest Cover Design Award, the annual competition that aims to recognise and nurture new design and illustration talent in the book publishing industry.

In 2025, the award is being run in partnership with Creative Review and features a special one-off brief to create not just a single book cover but a comprehensive design system, in celebration of Penguin’s 90th anniversary.

Entrants were briefed to capture the spirit of Penguin’s three founding design principles – bold, distinctive and mass market – in a new design system for paperback books. They were then asked to show it in use across any three out of 10 Penguin book titles put forward by the publisher, which covered a range of genres spanning its 90-year history.

The 10 shortlisted designers and illustrators are as follows:

• Abby Muir
• Cheuk Lam Siu
• Connie Wooddisse
• Daniel Bossons
• Ella Dorrington
• Henry Severn-Miltiadous
• Jinyi Zhou
• Kitty Tindall
• Meghan Murgatroyd
• Mia Arkless

As Penguin Press art director Jim Stoddart acknowledged, creating a new design system was “no easy task” for entrants. However the shortlistees impressed by demonstrating their ability across graphic design, typography and illustration, as well as “how they’ve engaged with and interpreted elements of Penguin’s design heritage”, he added. For more details of the brief, see Creative Review’s article covering the launch of the 2025 competition in December.

Final judging will take place in March, and the first-prize winner will receive a six-month mentorship programme with a member of the Penguin art department. Along with the second- and third-prize winners, they will also receive a Wacom Intuos Pro Medium tablet and Penguin Random House design books to the value of £100.

The three winners and their work will be featured on the Creative Review website and in the Annual Awards edition of the print magazine, published in May.

The Penguin Books Cover Design Award is open to any designers aged over 18 with less than a year’s experience in a paid creative role. It is free to enter and the submitted work is not intended for use in any published works.

In the 18 years it has been running, the award has helped launch the careers of multiple award-winning designers, illustrators and art directors.

penguin.co.uk