FAQ – frequently asked questions

All kinds of illustrated children’s books and picture books projects, regardless of format, technique, size and number of pages may be submitted. The only limitation is the length of the text of the entire book: 40,000 characters including spaces.

Submitted works shall include the following items:



a)  a storyboard of a whole book in a preview PDF file
OR
a script of the integral book in a text file. The length of the script should not exceed 5400 characters, including spaces.



b)  a summary in English in a text file (for texts in Polish language we also require a summary in Polish). Character limit: 1800 characters including spaces (for each summary).



c)  3 examples of double spreads that contain illustrations or other important graphic elements. The double spreads should be in two formats:
- in a medium resolution PDF preview file (96–144 dpi)
and

- in a high resolution image file format (TIFF or PSD; 300 dpi, CMYK)

A storyboard is a graphic presentation of the work: simplified drawings of drafts showing all the illustrations/double-spreads of a book and an outline of their content. You should also include the information where in the project are the three selected double-spreads placed. A storyboardt should be sent in a PDF file.



A script is a short written description of the book project that includes its summary or overview (for example in bullet points) together with any information that would allow the jury to imagine the integral content of a planned book and a sequence in which the selected 3 double-spreads would be placed. The length of the script should not exceed 5400 characters, including spaces.
 
3 examples of double-spreads (two facing pages of a book) should take exactly the shape and form of the final spreads you would like to see in a published book. Each of the submitted double-spreads should contain illustrations or significant graphic elements, they cannot be only text spreads.



The double spreads should be submitted in two formats:



1) in a medium resolution PDF preview file (96–144 dpi) – to make it easier for the jurors to look at them and evaluated them;
and
2) in a high-quality image file format (TIFF or PSD; 300 dpi, CMYK) – to provide a material for the future post-competition exhibition and catalogue print-outs. 
 
A summary in English should briefly present the content of the work. It will facilitate understanding of the project for the jurors. The summary should be sent in a text file and its length should not exceed 1800 characters, including spaces.
 
A summary in Polish is required only if the project is in Polish. The summary should be sent in a text file and its length should not exceed 1800 characters, including spaces.

1. Enter the website...



2. Complete the online application form. Starred fields and the acceptance of the GPDR regulations and contest regulation are obligatory.



3. After filling in the form, upload the files containing the competition project. You can do this in two ways:



1) If the files with your project do not exceed 100 MB, upload them directly to the form.
2) If the files exceeds 100 MB, please use a file sharing tool (WeTransfer, Dropbox, etc.) and paste the download links in the form.



4. Press the button SEND APPLICATION FORM. Filling in and sending the form with attached digital files is equivalent to applying to the Clairvoyants 2020 competition.



Competition works should be submitted until the 15th of December 2020 in digital form only. We will not accept applications sent by traditional mail.
Please read the competition regulations carefully before submitting.

We suggest you to join our Facebook group „JASNOWIDZE, łączcie się! / CLAIRVOYANTS, get together!” where you may find your creative team partner. We created it for this purpose only! If you are looking for an illustrator or for an author just write a post in the group!

There is no limitation as to the number of submitted projects. One author can submit several works, both individually and/or as a part of a team.

We do not accept projects composed of text only or illustrations only. The purpose of the competition is to create the project of an illustrated book as a whole. We encourage you to cooperate with authors and graphic designers or illustrators. We’ve created a special Facebook group where writers and illustrators looking for a competition co-partners meet. 



The only exception to this rule is a silent book, which by definition has no text, and the narrative is based only on illustrations. That kind of project can be submitted to the competition.

The project can be addressed to any reader between a few months and 18 years old.

Works should be submitted until the 15th of December 2020.

The digital files of a finished book can be attached to the competition entry as the storyboard. Don’t forget however to mark the 3 selected double-spreads that will be the object of assesment. They should be sent separately in the image files. 

The maximal size of the files that can be uploaded is 100 MB. If your files are bigger, please use a file sharing tool (WeTransfer, Dropbox, etc.) and paste the download links in the form.

The object of the competition is not only illustrations, but also a text of the book. The author of the text must agree to have their work submitted and accept the rules of the competition, hence he/she must become a member of a team and a participant of the competition. It also means that the author has to own full copyrights to the submitted text and they cannot be limited by any other agreements with other subjects. As for deceased writers, only texts which belong to the public domain can be a part of a submitted entry. This applies to texts by authors who died before 1950.

The juries will assess the project of a book as a whole, therefore it’s important to work both one the graphic and text side of the work. The most important criteria are: artistic quality, originality, the form which inspires child’s imagination and the content which is aware of the child’s sensitivity.



You can take a look at the verdicts of previous editions (1st edition, 2nd edition, 3rd edition) and the videos with judges' statements (1st edition, 2nd edition, 3rd edition) to give you an idea on what kind of works are we waiting for.