IBBY announces Hans Christian Andersen Awards shortlist

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has announced the shortlist for this year's Hans Christian Andersen Awards for contributions to children's literature.

Five writers are shortlisted for the Author Award (Cao Wenxuan from China, Louis Jensen from Denmark, Mirjam Pressler from Germany, Ted van Lieshout from the Netherlands and Lois Lowry from the US) and five illustrators for the Illustrator Award (Rotraut Susanne Berner from Germany, Pejman Rahimizadeh from Iran, Alessandro Sanna from Italy, Suzy Lee from the Republic of Korea and Marit Törnqvist from the Netherlands).

The shortlisted authors and illustrators were chosen from a list of 57 nominations, which included Chris Riddell and Elizabeth Laird from the UK, by an IBBY team led by 2016 jury president Patricia Aldana.

“It was remarkable to work with such an accomplished jury,” said Aldana. “Despite coming from so many different cultures and backgrounds there was a surprising degree of consensus. And it was a highly enjoyable process for us all.”

The full list of nominations is available on the IBBY website.

The two winners will be announced 4th April at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The medals will then be presented to the winners at the IBBY Congress in New Zealand in August.

Previous UK winners of the Hans Christian Andersen Award include author David Almond (2010) and illustrator Quentin Blake (2002).