AWARDS

Niki Daly is the most successful South African illustrator/author of books for children. Since 1978 he has been involved in the production of 48 books in which time he has won numerous awards.

	1978	The Little Girl Who lived down the Road British Arts Council Award One summer day in the seventies, my wife, Jude, and I went down to the Brighton seaside by train. On that journey I started to imagine fellow passengers as animals! By the time we got to Brighton the seed for this story had been planted. To get my first attempt published was wonderful; to receive a prize for it was encouraging.
	1985	I want to see the Moon (Written by Louise Baum and illustrated by Niki Daly) Short-listed for The Best Book for Babies Award
	1986	Not so fast Songololo Katrine Harries Award for Illustrated Books Parents Choice Award for Literature USA Golden Eagle Award for Video presentation I had no idea what a can of worms I was opening when I did this book. But the idea that a white South African could authentically depict an afternoon shopping trip taken by a black grandmother and her grandson was questioned. Still, it has survived 18 years of debate around the topic of cross/cultural writing and is still in print.
	1993	All the Magic in the World (Written by Wendy Hartmann and illustrated by Niki Daly) Bookchat Honours / 1994 IBBY Honour List for Illustration Every once in a while, I get to illustrate someone else’s story. This demands a bit more effort than for illustrating my own stories; in that I must find a meeting point between the writer’s frame of reference and my own. What decides me to work with a writer is a feeling that I wish I had written their story, but understand that it was not in me to do so. To succeed and make the author happy with my pictures, I need to reach outwards and look inwards, as pictures come from the text and feelings from my own experiences
	1995 1996	Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky Certificate of Excellence presented by The New York Times for One of the Year’s Best Illustrated Books On a visit to Florence, I was greatly taken by the cosmological imagery included in many of the paintings of the middle age and Renaissance. Later, when I heard a telling of an Ibibio myth about Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, I jumped at the idea of combining influences of European Renaissance art with an African myth. Why the Sun and Moon live in the Sky Awarded the Anne Izard Story Teller's Choice Award (Given by the Westchester, NY Library System USA) The spirit of story telling is to take what you have heard, then leave a little and add a little – in this way the story lives. So it was really a compliment for an ‘illustrator who enjoys writing’ to have received this award.
	1995	My Dad Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) My Dad is a semi autobiographical story about a time my alcoholic father embarrassed my sister and me by turning up drunk at a school concert. Part research and part therapy involved participating in an ACOA support group (Adult Children Of Alcoholics). While not a jolly read, I want children to understand that alcoholics are sick people and not bad people. I wish I had known this at the time I hated my dad for embarrassing me.
	1998	Bravo, Zan Angelo! A Parent's Choice Award (USA) A Capital Choice Book What a joy to write and illustrate a book that gives one an excuse to visit Venice! This gave me my first experience of doing ‘serious’ research before starting to illustrate, and I love it. I have Melanie Donavan, a New York editor, to thank for redirecting my original idea (to illustrate Punch and Judy) towards this Commedia del’Arte story.
	1996 2000	Jamela's Dress An ALA Notable Children's Book/ A Booklist One of the Top 10 African American Picture Books of 2000/ 1999 Children’s Literature Choice Award/ Parent's Choice Silver Award It is most satisfying to do a book that not only gets an award but also SELLS!! And this is my baby. Of course, there’s no way of knowing which of my books is going to hit that mark. And I prefer not to know. The Vivian Wilkes Award IBBY Honour List for Illustration An ALA Blue Ribbon Book The Peter Pan Silver Award given by IBBY Sweden
		The Vivian Wilkes Award, until the return of the Katrine Harries in 2004, was the only award given in South Africa for children’s book illustration. I believe Vivian Wilkes was passionate about picture books and wanted to encourage the few of us who earn our living in South Africa as illustrators – which makes it a very special award. Thanks to my Scandinavian Publisher, Vagn Plenge, my work is celebrated in Sweden and I was very pleased to win an award bearing the name of Peter Pan!
	2000	Fly, Eagle, Fly! (Retelling by Christopher Gregorowski and illustrated by Niki Daly) The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award A Capital Choice Book Many years after the first edition of Fly Eagle Fly (done in two colours), I was asked by Tafelburg Publishers to consider re-illustrating the book in full colour. After 1994, I felt it was the right time to spread Aggrey’s inspirational message from Africa to the rest of the world.
	2002	What’s Cooking, Jamela? Best Book for Young Children Award of African Studies Association When my publisher of Jamela’s Dress called from London to suggest another “Jamela” book, I said I did not see myself as a ‘series’ writer as I tire quickly and I am driven by a constant need for change in my work. I don’t think an hour passed after the call when I got the idea for the next book! There is just something about drawing the characters in the Jamela books that I love doing.
	2004	Yebo Jamela! The South African edition of What’s Cooking Jamela? IBBY Honour Award
	2004	Once Upon a Time Parents' Choice Awards Program. Recommended for Age 4-8. A Children’s Africana Honour Book . Years ago, we took a holiday on a farm in the Great Karroo. On the farm, was a car graveyard where cars from the fifties and sixties had been dumped. My kids had a great time playing in them, rather than milking cows. I don’t know why it takes so long for a picture to work its way into a story, but twenty years later a desire to draw an old woman sitting in a once classy sedan led me into writing Once Upon a Time. As I get older, I find that a word, a glimpse, a touch or a smell is all it takes for the process to start the process of writing.
	2004	The Greatest Skating Race (written by Louise Borden;published by Margaret K. McElderry Books) Parent’s Choice Award A story about bravery during the time of WW2 is accompanied by so much history, captured on film and photographs. So I had somewhat of a feeling of ‘having been there’ while working on this book. I did research for costume and backgrounds in the library at the Holocaust Museum in Cape Town. After a morning of paging through photo journals it struck me that I had not seen one smile captured on camera during that grim period. It is always a challenge for an illustrator to find a way their art can serve a grim subject without the art appearing grim.
	2004	Where’s Jamela? A Parent’s Choice Recommended Book Having once thought that I’d never be interested enough in any one character to create a series of books, Jamela has surprised me. But whenever I get back to her and her family I realise why I enjoy illustrating them so much – they are very expressive characters that move through a spectrum of emotions within a 28 page picture book. And because I enjoy figure drawing and incorporating body language, the series has provided me with a pretty
	2005	A Wanderer in Og An Extraordinary Slug Award from the Snail Liberation Under Ground In recognition of his Commendable Whimsy in the face of downdumbingmindnumbing Babarianism – Gus Ferguson, Life President This is one of my least commercially successful books, yet one of my favourites. My love for nonsense a la Lear and Carol inspired me to invent both character and spoof travel journal that has the look of a cancelled library book found on a dusty shelf of a charity bookshop.
	2007	Pretty Salma A Parents Choice Gold Award Pretty Salma was inspired by a chance meeting with the real Salma who passed by our house on her way home from school. Finding a safe route for her home, spurred me to write a cautionary tale for children, combining elements from Little Red Riding Hood and a Tsongo story – The Mbulumakhaza.
	2007	Happy Birthday Jamela! Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award It was great receiving this award for the fourth book in the Jamela series, considering the challenges in maintaining a standard throughout a series and continuing to appeal to fans of Jamela. ‘Shoes’ continue as a theme It was great receiving this award for the fourth book in the Jamela series, considering the challenges in maintaining a standard throughout a series and continuing to appeal to fans of Jamela. ‘Shoes’ continue as a theme in my work . It’s quite a challenge to maintain the standard of writing across a series of books. So, it was great to receive an award for the fourth in my Jamela series. I guess the theme of children and their shoes is fuelled by my love for new shoes when I was a child (and continues as adult!!). I’d like all children to have a strong pair of school shoes and a cool pair for partying!
	2007	The ALOA Literary Award Special mention For the past fourteen years, many of my books have been published in Scandinavia by Forlaget Hjulet, A Danish publisher. The result has been a wonderful friendship between myself and my readers up North. This award, given with a big heart and received with much love and appreciation, was presented to me in 2007 when I travelled to Sweden to participate in the Lund Litrature Festival
	2009	The Molteno Gold Medal Award The Cape Tercentenary Foundation was founded in 1950 by Edward and Harry Molteno, pioneers of the Cape fruit industry. They were extremely well read, appreciated and enjoyed music and the theatre, and were devoted to the natural environment.  The Cape Tercentenary Foundation has the following mission in mind: to preserve, promote and encourage literature, the visual and performing arts, and the natural and cultural environment in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape Provinces. The Cape Tercentenary Foundation aims to preserve, promote and encourage literature, the visual and performing arts and the natural and cultural environment within the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape Provinces. http://www.cape300foundation.org.za/default.htm

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