THE illustrator of a biography on famed Dorset fossil hunter Mary Anning has won a prestigious award.

Kate Winter has won the Klaus Flugge Prize awarded to the most exciting and promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration.

Her book The Fossil Hunter, tells the story of Anning, the 19th century palaeontologist whose discoveries in the cliffs of Lyme Regis transformed scientists’ understanding of the world.

Via atmospheric watercolour illustrations, the book tells the fossil hunter's personal story and details her discoveries and their scientific impact.

This is the first time an information picture book has won the £5,000 prize.

Kate, from Cambridge, carried out research for the book at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge, as well as at the Natural History Museum, London, but it was walking on the beaches of Lyme Regis and drawing in the places Anning loved that helped her really get to know her subject.

She said: “Mary was a creative thinker. She dared to dream up something no-one had ever thought of before.

"That’s what I want to do with my work: I want to show new ways of looking at things and I want to take readers on a magical journey.”

Judges described The Fossil Hunter as a beautiful book and praised Kate's observational skills.

Judge and illustrator Petr Horáček said: “The Fossil Hunter is a beautifully produced book in which the informative text, the story and the illustrations are in perfect harmony.

"The energetic, well drawn and painted illustrations are a treat for readers of any age.”

Kate has also told of how 'inspiring' Anning's life was and that it was a 'gift' to an illustrator like herself.

She added: "To win the prize is amazing and makes me ever more grateful to Mary Anning and her inspiring life story that is so visually rich and such a gift to an illustrator. Thank you to the Klaus Flugge Prize for this award and for recognising the hard work that went into this book.”

Established in 2016, the Klaus Flugge Prize honours publisher Klaus Flugge, a supremely influential figure in picture books.

Flugge set up Andersen Press in 1976 and discovered and nurtured many of today's most distinguished illustrators including David McKee, Tony Ross, Satoshi Kitamura, Ruth Brown and Susan Varley.

In April 2023 he was awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award to add to his list of honours.