Max Löffler wins Book Illustration Competition to create new edition of Sherlock Holmes

© Max Löffler 2018 from The Folio Society and House of Illustration Book Illustration Competition for Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Selected Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

German illustrator and designer Max Löffler has won the Folio Society and House of Illustration‘s annual Book Illustration Competition – beating 450 entrants to create a new edition of The Selected Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Book Illustration Competition is open to professional illustrators and students aged 18 and over. Löffler will receive £5,000 to illustrate a new edition of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and the book will be published by the Folio Society in October 2018.

© Max Löffler 2018 from The Folio Society and House of Illustration Book Illustration Competition for Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Selected Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

There’s a touch of the Russian Avante-Garde about Löffler’s evocative illustrations. Guest judge Helen Dorey said they “elegantly express the essence of the stories with an added element of mystery that makes them utterly compelling”.

© Max Löffler 2018 from The Folio Society and House of Illustration Book Illustration Competition for Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Selected Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
© Max Löffler 2018 from The Folio Society and House of Illustration Book Illustration Competition for Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Selected Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Sheri Gee – Art Director at the Folio Society – said Löffler “showed real ingenuity and imagination in his entry and gave [illustrations] a timelessness which sits well with Sherlock Holmes”.

Five shortlisted artists will each receive £500. This year’s shortlist includes three students – Erik Freij, Zuzana Cupova and Harry Woodgate – as well as UK-based illustrators Andy Potts and Andrew Pinder.

Svetlana Boiko received the People’s Choice Award for her entry to the Book Illustration Competition. Illustration © Svetlana Boiko 2018

Svetlana Boiko won the People’s Choice Award – voted for by over 3,000 members of the public – and will receive books worth £100 from the Folio Society.