Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominees 2018

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are presented every two years by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children's literature. IBBY National Sections from 35 countries submitted the following 28 illustrators 33 authors as candidates for the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Awards:

Author Nominees

Argentina: Pablo De Santis

Armenia: Edward Militonyan

Australia: David Metzenthen

Austria: Renate Welsh

Belgium: Xavier Deutsch

Brazil: Marina Colasanti

Canada: Kenneth Oppel

China: Qin Wenjun

Colombia: Triunfo Arciengas

Cyprus: Andreas Constantinides

Denmark: Louis Jensen

Egypt: Amal Farah

Estonia: Leelo Tungal

France: Marie-Aude Murail

Germany: Mirjam Pressler

Greece: Vagelis Iliopoulos

Iran: Farhad Hassanzadeh

Israel: David Grossman

Italy: Chiara Carminati

Japan: Eiko Kadono

Latvia: Inese Zandere

Mongolia: Dashdondog Jamba

Netherlands: Edward van de Vendel

New Zealand: Joy Cowley

Poland: Marcin Szczygielski

Russia: Andrey Usachev

Slovenia: Peter Svetina

Spain: Alfredo Gómez Cerdá

Sweden: Ulf Stark

Switzerland: Franz Hohler

Turkey: Mavisel Yener

UK: Melvin Burgess

USA: Pam Muñoz Ryan

Illustrator Nominees

Argentina: Pablo Bernasconi

Australia: Jeannie Baker

Austria: Linda Wolfsgruber

Belgium: Carll Cneut

Brazil: Ciça Fittipaldi

Canada: Isabelle Arsenault

China: Xiong Liang

Colombia: Claudia Rueda

Croatia: Andrea Petrlik Huseinović

Denmark: Lilian Brøgger

Egypt: Helmi El-Touni

France: François Place

Germany: Nikolaus Heidelbach

Greece: Christos Dimos

Italy: Guido Scarabottolo

Japan: Seizo Tashima

Latvia: Gundega Muzikante

Lithuania: Kęstutis Kasparavičius

Netherlands: Thé Tjong-Khing

Poland: Iwona Chmielewska

Russia: Igor Oleynikov

Slovenia: Peter Škerl

Spain: Elena Odriozola

Sweden: Eva Lindström

Switzerland: Albertine

Turkey: Sedat Girgin

UK: Jane Ray

USA Jerry: Pinkney

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are the highest international awards given for children's literature. The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) presents the awards biennially in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature." The awards are given in two categories: authors (presented since 1956), and illustrators (presented since 1966) and the nominees are judged using the following criteria as a guide:

• • The aesthetic and literary qualities of writing and illustrating

• • The ability to see things from a child's point of view

• • The ability to stretch the child's curiosity as well as the child's literary and creative imagination

• • Cultural differences in literary aesthetics are taken into account and appreciated

• • Freshness and innovation are a great advantage

• • The complete works of the author or illustrator, to date, are taken into consideration.

The National Sections of IBBY have the privilege of nominating one candidate for each award. The nominating section is responsible for presenting an informative dossier that reveals the breadth of the candidate's work and shows the impact of her/his contributions. In addition to a selection of representative books, the following documentation is used to appraise each candidate:

• • Biographical information on the candidate

• • A statement on the candidate's contribution to literature for young people

• • Selected appreciative essays, interviews or articles

• • A list of awards and other distinctions

• • Complete bibliography of the books for children by the candidate

• • List of translated editions, and their languages

• • Five of the most important titles by the candidate (even if out of print)

• • (Published) reviews of the books submitted to the Jury

The Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury selects the award recipients and comprises ten members who are nominated by the IBBY National Sections and selected by the IBBY Executive Committee. The members of IBBY elect the Jury President at its biennial General Assembly. Patricia Aldana was elected as President of the Jury in Auckland, New Zealand in August 2016. She was born and brought up in Guatemala and attended school in the United States. In 1971 she moved to Canada and has been there ever since. She founded the publishing house Groundwood Books in 1978 and remained its publisher until 2012. She served as an EC member from 1996 to 2002 and again from 2004 to 2006 as vice president. Patsy was elected IBBY president in 2006 and served until 2010. As Jury President she presided over 2016 Jury and for 2018 the Jury comprises the following members:

Denis Beznosov–Head...