To enter the Penguin Cover Design Award, you must be a resident of the UK or Ireland, or have permission to be living in the UK or Ireland* during the Awards timeline (October 2025 – April 2026).
*You are not eligible to enter the awards if you are a Resident of the EU or another country and not currently living, working or studying in Ireland or the UK.
Education status
You do not need to be in education to be able to enter, but we continue to welcome students.
Employment status
Entrants must not have had significant experience in a paid creative role.
By significant experience, we mean that entrants must not:
- have cumulatively worked for one year or more in a paid creative role*
- be currently employed in a one-year or permanent contract, in a paid creative role**
*The one year’s experience counts as either continuous or accumulated over a longer period of time. For example, four paid placements of three months each, over the course of two years would make you unable to enter, as that would be one year’s worth of paid experience in total.
If you have worked as a freelancer, this means you must not have made the majority of your income from a creative role for the equivalent of one year or more.
** A creative role is defined as a position where the entrant is employed in any type of creative role such as: illustrator, art director, graphic designer, etc. This includes paid placements. Entrants may still enter if they work (or have worked) for a creative company in a non-creative role.
Minimum age
Entrants must be aged 18 or over by 1 April 2026