International Silent Book Contest 2027

The International Silent Book Contest – Gianni De Conno Award is a competition for picture books without words. It was founded in 2018 by the Italian publisher Carthusia Edizioni, from an idea by the illustrator Gianni De Conno and Francesca Nini Carbonini, and it is dedicated to De Conno's memory.

A silent book tells its whole story through pictures, so it can be read by anyone, anywhere, in any language. The Silent Book Contest looks for new, unpublished projects of this kind, on any subject and for readers of any age. It is organised with the Bologna Children's Book Fair and the Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino, under the patronage of IBBY Italia, and with the support of BPER Banca.

The finalists are exhibited at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in April and at the Turin International Book Fair, where the winner is announced. The winning book is published by Carthusia, and the author receives an advance of €2,500 on royalties. A Junior Prize, chosen by primary school children, offers a second chance of publication.

Who Can Enter the Silent Book Contest?

Authors, illustrators and artists of any nationality and residence who are at least 18 years old on 15 January 2027. Each author can submit from one to three projects. Projects made by several illustrators, or by an illustrator with a separate author of the story, are accepted.

It is particularly relevant to:

• Picture book illustrators
• Author-illustrators with a wordless idea
• Illustration students; schools can be named in the contract if a student project wins
• Artists from other fields who want to tell a story in images

What Can You Enter?

A new, unpublished and complete book project without words. Any traditional or digital technique is accepted, in colour or in black and white, and the subject and target age are open.

Format

• Open format of 57 × 28.5 cm (closed 28.5 × 28.5 cm, opening from right to left)
• 14 internal double pages
• 1 double page with the dedication on the left and the frontispiece on the right
• 1 double page with the back cover on the left and the front cover on the right
• 16 double pages in total
• No bleed, margins or crop marks

What Is Not Accepted

• Words or partial texts that help the reader understand the story; words placed in an image must be purely decorative
• Pop-up books, cartoons, comic strips and colouring books
• Photographs and projects that are not illustrated
• Images generated by artificial intelligence, even partly
• Storyboards, sketches and unfinished projects
• Books already published in any country

Entry Fees

€60 per project, paid online by credit card, prepaid card or PayPal. The fee is not refundable. Each author can enter up to three projects.

What Do Selected Entrants Receive?

• Winner: publication by Carthusia Edizioni by June 2027, with a publishing contract and a €2,500 advance on royalties
• Finalists (10 to 16): exhibition at the Bologna Children's Book Fair and at the Salone del Libro in Turin
• Junior Prize: the finalist that receives the highest score from primary school classes in Italy and abroad is published by Carthusia in early 2028
• Other finalists: Carthusia may offer to publish further finalist books in its Silent Book series

If the winning project has more than one author, the prize is shared according to the rules: equally between illustrators, and half to the illustrators and half to the story authors where both are involved.

Submission Requirements

• One PDF per project, in high quality, up to 10 MB
• The PDF named with your pen name, the project title and your country, without spaces, numbers or special characters
• Only the title and your pen name on the cover; the project is judged anonymously
• Registration, upload and payment all completed online by 15 January 2027

You can replace an uploaded PDF once before the deadline. Do not send paper copies or original illustrations.

Important Rules

• Projects must be original and unpublished worldwide.
• The same project cannot be entered in other competitions at the same time.
• Finalists grant Carthusia the exclusive right to exhibit their project for one year.
• Finalists cannot offer their project to another publisher before November 2028, while Carthusia decides whether to publish it.
• Finalist books may only be published as wordless books.

When Will Entrants Be Notified?

An international jury of nine figures from publishing, illustration and literature selects ten to sixteen finalists from the entries received by 15 January. The finalists are presented at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in April 2027, and the jury then chooses the winner, who is announced at the award ceremony in Turin.

Things to Consider

• Test the story without explanation. Show your dummy to someone who knows nothing about it. If they can tell you the story, the jury will understand it too.
• Use the page turn. Wordless books rely on surprise and rhythm between spreads.
• Set up the format first. The square, right-to-left format shapes every composition, so build your files at the right size from the start.
• Finish every page. Sketches and work in progress are not accepted.
• Think about the exclusivity. If you reach the final, your project is reserved for Carthusia until November 2028.
• Name the file correctly. A wrongly named or oversized PDF can be rejected.

Enter the Competition

Interested in submitting your work?

Enter the International Silent Book Contest 2027

For the complete terms and conditions and the registration area, visit the official Silent Book Contest website.

Looking for more open calls? Browse all competitions and opportunities on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 2, 2026