Illustrator Renáta Fučíková from Sutnar Faculty wins another Golden Ribbon

This year, the Golden Ribbon jury recognized not only Renáta Fučíková's extensive body of creative work, but also her long-standing teaching career. The illustrator from the UWB was awarded the Golden Ribbon for outstanding contribution to literature for children and young people.

A ticket to the literary Valhalla. That is how Renáta Fučíková described her this year's Golden Ribbon Award for outstanding contribution to literature for children and young people, as she accepted the prize. The head of the Didactic Illustration studio at the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen has thus joined the ranks of such figures as Daisy Mrázková, Květa Pacovská, and Jiří Šalamoun.

"It is an award for illustration, writing, and teaching alike. I guide students towards a conceptual approach to the book. Together, we work on author books, silent books, and picture books. I teach them how to research source material, how to work with it carefully, and how not to underestimate it," said Renáta Fučíková. Teaching at the Sutnar Faculty regularly includes consultations with poets, writers, editors, and other publishing professionals. Students are thus exposed to the entire process of how a book comes to life, and develop an understanding of image and text as equal components of storytelling.

The name Renáta Fučíková has been associated with Czech children's books for several decades. In her work, the illustrator consistently focuses on history, bringing it closer to readers through her own authored books. She has earned multiple Golden Ribbon Awards, three nominations for the Magnesia Litera award, won the Grand Prix in Zagreb, received recognition at the Biennial of Illustrations in Tehran, and was listed on the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Honor List. Moreover, the Czech Republic nominated her three consecutive times between 2011 and 2013 for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

The annual Golden Ribbon Award was established in the early 1990s and remains to this day the only Czech award dedicated exclusively to books for children and young readers. It is presented by the Czech Section of IBBY together with other professional organizations. Winners are decided by juries made up of experts from the fields of literature, illustration, and publishing. "The Golden Ribbon is a highly respected award. The Czech Section of IBBY has played a major role in keeping it alive and, in doing so, has raised the prestige of books for children. That is why I value this recognition enormously," said Renáta Fučíková.

This year's Zlatá stuha showed that, alongside established names, a new generation of authors is emerging — many of whom trained in the studios of the Sutnar Faculty. Among the nominees were faculty graduates Tomáš Staněk, Marita Kelbl, Kateřina Illnerová, and Veronika Bílková. It was the latter who ultimately turned her nomination into a win, receiving the Golden Ribbon Award for the book Pan Martinů (Mr Martinů) in the non-fiction for children and young people category. Further details can be found on the Golden Ribbon website.