On 14 July 2017, Public Lending Right (PLR) released its figures for the illustrators whose books were most borrowed by UK public library users for the first time in 2015/16. The list includes pre-school favourites Quentin Blake and Shirley Hughes, as well as current Children’s Laureate Lauren Child. The books illustrated by the three most sought-after artists – Tony Ross, Nick Charat and Axel Scheffler – have been borrowed more than a million times.
Sharing his delight at being the most borrowed illustrator, Tony Ross commented:
“Wow! That’s great, but I would say I’ve had the help of fantastic authors like Gene Willis, David Walliams and Francesca Simon. Thank you, library users! I’m surprised, proud and flattered!”
“It’s wonderful that the success of illustrators is being recognized in this PLR ranking,” said Children’s Laureate Lauren Child. “Illustrators are so important to the overall enjoyment of reading books, and libraries play a key role in getting books to all children. PLR’s recognition of the work of illustrators is welcome and a very important step in highlighting the unique contribution of the illustrator to the success of a book.”
The publication of the PLR list of the most in-demand illustrators was also welcomed by Sarah McIntyre of Pictures Mean Business:
“The money received from PLR is a real lifeline for so many illustrators who work tirelessly, but many of the artists who tell stories through their drawings in books struggle to make a name for themselves in professional circles. I am delighted to learn that the PLR team have compiled a list of the 50 most in-demand illustrators from public libraries in the UK! I hope that in the near future publishers will update their databases and people will be able to find information about illustrators as easily as they can about writers.”
The list of the most borrowed illustrators, as brought to our attention by the Children's Book Foundation, includes the names of: Quentin Blake (5th place), Liz Pichon (9th place), David Roberts (10th place), David McKee (14th place), Lauren Child (16th place), David Melling (18th place), Emma Chichester Clarke (20th place), Roger Hargreaves (23rd place), Oliver Jeffers (31st place), Dave Pilkey (34th place), Dr. Seuss (38th place), Shirley Hughes (43rd place), Chris Riddle (45th place), Eric Carle (47th place).
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PLR is managed by the British Library (the national library of the United Kingdom) and gives authors the legal right to receive payments from the government every time their books are borrowed through the public library system. In February 2017, the PLR distributed the sum of £6 million among 22,202 authors at a ratio of 7.82 pence for each book borrowed. To receive this subsidy, authors (writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, translators, storytellers, producers, etc.) must be registered with the PLR. To do this, they can apply through the PLR office in the United Kingdom.
We thank the Children's Books Foundation for permission to use the material and the translation by Vladimir Argirov from their website – http://detskiknigi.com/
Unfortunately, such statistics do not currently exist in Bulgaria, nor does there exist an organization that monitors the prices, payments and legal rights of illustrators.
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