Winning authors and illustrators received £1000 and a bronze figurine called the "Emil".
[1] The Award was founded by Kurt Maschler, best known as the publisher of Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner (1929).
By the time it was discontinued after covering 1999 publications, it was run by Booktrust and Tom Maschler, a British publisher and the son of the founder.
[2] Gorilla (1983), illustrated by Anthony Browne, and Helen Oxenbury's edition of Alice in Wonderland (1999) were named two of the top ten Greenaway-winning works (1955–2005) for the 50-year celebration of that Medal in 2007.
[3] Three others were highly commended runners up for the illustrators Medal, a distinction that was roughly annual at the time: Browne's edition of Alice, Oxenbury for So Much, and Patrick Benson for The Little Boat.