# Hans Christian Andersen Award

The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". The writing award was first given in 1956, the illustration award in 1966. The former is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for children's literature".
The awards are named after Hans Christian Andersen, a 19th-century Danish author of fairy tales, and each winner receives the Hans Christian Andersen Medaille (a gold medal with the bust of Andersen) and a diploma. Medals are presented at the biennial IBBY Congress.

## History

The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) was founded by Jella Lepman in the 1950s. The Hans Christian Andersen Award was first proposed in 1953 and awarded three years later, in 1956. It was established in the aftermath of World War II to encourage the development of high-quality children's books. The award was set to be given biennially and was initially awarded for individual works that had been published in the preceding two years. By 1962, the award's formal criteria were amended "to a living author who is judged to have made a lasting contribution to good juvenile literature by the outstanding value of his or her work. The author's complete works, in particular those in fiction, will be taken into consideration in awarding the medal."
Runners up were listed in 1960, 1962, and 1964. In reflection of what IBBY considered to be a trend of increasing quality in picture books, the award was expanded to include illustrators in 1966. From 1966 to 1996 runners up were named as "Highly Commended". In 1998, this was replaced with a list of three to four "Finalists". It is sometimes called the "Little Nobel Prize" or the "Nobel Prize for children's literature" and has been cited as the "most important activity" of IBBY. Between 1992 and 2022, the patron of the awards was Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. A special issue of Bookbird, a journal published by IBBY, is published as the award is given out.

## Jury

The winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards is selected by a jury which is put together by IBBY's executive committee. The Jury's president is elected by IBBY's General Assembly. There were initially seven jurors, but this was increased to eight and in 2000 to ten. Two years later, the jury was split with five members focusing on writing and the other five handling illustrations. The jurors are expected to be competent in children's literature and ideally represent a diverse group. It generally takes six months to review candidates and select a winner.
Jella Lepman served as Jury President for the first three Andersen Awards, 1956 to 1960, and remained on the jury until her death in 1970, as the President of IBBY and then as its honorary president. Current four-year terms cover two award cycles. Other notable presidents have included Virginia Haviland (1970–1974), Patricia Crampton (1982–1986), and Ana Maria Machado (1986–1990).

## Selection process

The award's regulations read: "The Hans Christian Award is presented every two years by IBBY to an author and to an illustrator, living at the time of the nomination, who by the outstanding value of their work are judged to have made a lasting contribution to literature for children and young people. The complete works of the author and the illustrator will be taken into consideration in the selection process". The award is explicitly designed to be an "international" work, and it is not explicitly given to a certain country.
IBBY has many member nations—all countries are eligible for membership. Every member nation has its own organization, known as a "national section", that is active across the country. All member nations can nominate candidates for consideration in the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Some member states will repeatedly nominate the same author or illustrator, others nominate a new candidate each time. To nominate a candidate, a dossier is prepared that provides information including a list of works and biographical sketch. The portfolio must have between five and ten books by the candidate, which are sent to jurors, IBBY's president, and the "Jury Secretary". There were sixty-six nominees from thirty-three countries for the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen awards.
Each winner receives the Hans Christian Andersen Medaille, a gold medal with the bust of Andersen, and a diploma. These medals are presented at the biennial IBBY Congress.

## Writing award winners

Winners of the writing award :
| Year | Winner | Country | Award |
| 1956 | Eleanor Farjeon (for The Little Bookroom) | United Kingdom | Winner |
| 1958 | Astrid Lindgren (for Rasmus på luffen) | Sweden | Winner |
| 1960 | Erich Kästner (for Als ich ein kleiner Junge war [de]) | West Germany | Winner |
| 1962 | Meindert DeJong | USA | Winner |
| 1964 | René Guillot | France | Winner |
| 1966 | Tove Jansson | Finland | Winner |
| 1966 | Karl Bruckner | Austria | Highly Commended |
| 1966 | Gianni Rodari | Italy | Highly Commended |
| 1966 | José María Sánchez-Silva | Spain | Highly Commended |
| 1968 | James Krüss | West Germany | Winner |
| 1968 | José María Sánchez-Silva | Spain | Winner |
| 1968 | Gianni Rodari | Italy | Highly Commended |
| 1968 | Elizabeth Coatsworth | USA | Highly Commended |
| 1970 | Gianni Rodari | Italy | Winner |
| 1970 | Ana María Matute | Spain | Highly Commended |
| 1970 | E. B. White | USA | Highly Commended |
| 1970 | Ela Peroci | Yugoslavia | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Scott O'Dell | USA | Winner |
| 1972 | Colette Vivier | France | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Otfried Preußler | West Germany | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Ana María Matute | Spain | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Maria Gripe | Sweden | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Sergey Mikhalkov | Soviet Union | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Siny van Iterson | Netherlands | |
| 1974 | Maria Gripe | Sweden | Winner |
| 1974 | Cecil Bødker | Denmark | Highly Commended |
| 1974 | Colette Vivier | France | Highly Commended |
| 1974 | Rosemary Sutcliff | UK | Highly Commended |
| 1976 | Cecil Bødker | Denmark | Winner |
| 1976 | Agnija Barto | Soviet Union | Highly Commended |
| 1976 | E. B. White | USA | Highly Commended |
| 1978 | Paula Fox | USA | Winner |
| 1978 | Alan Garner | UK | Highly Commended |
| 1980 | Bohumil Říha | Czechoslovakia | Winner |
| 1980 | Lygia Bojunga Nunes | Brazil | Highly Commended |
| 1980 | Harry Kuliman [sv] | Sweden | Highly Commended |
| 1982 | Lygia Bojunga Nunes | Brazil | Winner |
| 1984 | Christine Nöstlinger | Austria | Winner |
| 1984 | Patricia Wrightson | Australia | Highly Commended |
| 1986 | Patricia Wrightson | Australia | Winner |
| 1988 | Annie M.G. Schmidt | Netherlands | Winner |
| 1988 | Claude Roy | France | Highly Commended |
| 1990 | Tormod Haugen | Norway | Winner |
| 1990 | Bjarne Reuter | Denmark | Highly Commended |
| 1992 | Virginia Hamilton | USA | Winner |
| 1992 | María Elena Walsh | Argentina | Highly Commended |
| 1992 | Houshang Moradi Kermani | Iran | Highly Commended |
| 1994 | Michio Mado | Japan | Winner |
| 1996 | Uri Orlev | Israel | Winner |
| 1998 | Katherine Paterson | USA | Winner |
| 1998 | Brian Doyle | Canada | Finalist |
| 1998 | Ruskin Bond | India | Finalist |
| 1998 | Alice Vieira | Portugal | Finalist |
| 1998 | Anne Fine | UK | Finalist |
| 2000 | Ana Maria Machado | Brazil | Winner |
| 2000 | Ulf Stark | Sweden | Finalist |
| 2000 | Peter Dickinson | UK | Finalist |
| 2000 | Lois Lowry | USA | Finalist |
| 2002 | Aidan Chambers | United Kingdom | Winner |
| 2002 | Bart Moeyaert | Belgium | Finalist |
| 2002 | Bjarne Reuter | Denmark | Finalist |
| 2004 | Martin Waddell | Ireland | Winner |
| 2004 | Barbro Lindgren | Sweden | Finalist |
| 2004 | Bjarne Reuter | Denmark | Finalist |
| 2004 | Joel Rufino dos Santos | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2004 | Jürg Schubiger | Switzerland | Finalist |
| 2006 | Margaret Mahy | New Zealand | Winner |
| 2006 | Jon Ewo | Norway | Finalist |
| 2006 | Peter Härtling | Germany | Finalist |
| 2006 | Philip Pullman | UK | Finalist |
| 2006 | Toon Tellegen | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 2006 | Eugene Trivizas | Greece | Finalist |
| 2008 | Jürg Schubiger | Switzerland | Winner |
| 2008 | Bartolomeu Campos de Queirós [pt] | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2008 | Brian Doyle | Canada | Finalist |
| 2008 | Guus Kuijer | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 2008 | David Almond | UK | Finalist |
| 2010 | David Almond | United Kingdom | Winner |
| 2010 | Ahmadreza Ahmadi | Iran | Finalist |
| 2010 | Bartolomeu Campos de Queirós [pt] | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2010 | Lennart Hellsing | Sweden | Finalist |
| 2010 | Louis Jensen | Denmark | Finalist |
| 2012 | María Teresa Andruetto | Argentina | Winner |
| 2012 | Paul Fleischman | USA | Finalist |
| 2012 | Bart Moeyaert | Belgium | Finalist |
| 2012 | Jean-Claude Mourlevat | France | Finalist |
| 2012 | Bianca Pitzorno | Italy | Finalist |
| 2014 | Nahoko Uehashi | Japan | Winner |
| 2014 | Ted van Lieshout | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 2014 | Houshang Moradi Kermani | Iran | Finalist |
| 2014 | Mirjam Pressler | Germany | Finalist |
| 2014 | Renate Welsh [de] | Austria | Finalist |
| 2014 | Jacqueline Woodson | USA | Finalist |
| 2016 | Cao Wenxuan | China | Winner |
| 2016 | Louis Jensen | Denmark | Finalist |
| 2016 | Ted van Lieshout | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 2016 | Mirjam Pressler | Germany | Finalist |
| 2016 | Lois Lowry | USA | Finalist |
| 2018 | Eiko Kadono | Japan | Winner |
| 2018 | Marie-Aude Murail | France | Finalist |
| 2018 | Farhad Hassanzadeh | Iran | Finalist |
| 2018 | Joy Cowley | New Zealand | Finalist |
| 2018 | Ulf Stark | Sweden | Finalist |
| 2020 | Jacqueline Woodson | USA | Winner |
| 2020 | María Cristina Ramos | Argentina | Finalist |
| 2020 | Bart Moeyaert | Belgium | Finalist |
| 2020 | Marie-Aude Murail | France | Finalist |
| 2020 | Farhad Hassanzadeh | Iran | Finalist |
| 2020 | Peter Svetina [sk] | Slovenia | Finalist |
| 2022 | Marie-Aude Murail | France | Winner |
| 2022 | María Cristina Ramos | Argentina | Finalist |
| 2022 | Fatima Sharafeddine | Lebanon | Finalist |
| 2022 | Peter Svetina [sk] | Slovenia | Finalist |
| 2022 | Annika Thor | Sweden | Finalist |
| 2022 | Margaret Wild | Australia | Finalist |
| 2024 | Heinz Janisch | Austria | Winner |
| 2024 | Marina Colasanti | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2024 | Lee Geum-yi | South Korea | Finalist |
| 2024 | Bart Moeyaert | Belgium | Finalist |
| 2024 | Timo Parvela | Finland | Finalist |
| 2024 | Edward van de Vendel | Netherlands | Finalist |

## Illustration award winners

Winners of the illustration award :
| Year | Winner | Country | Award |
| 1966 | Alois Carigiet | Switzerland | Winner |
| 1966 | Jiří Trnka | Czechoslovakia | Highly Commended |
| 1966 | Brian Wildsmith | UK | Highly Commended |
| 1968 | Jiří Trnka | Czechoslovakia | Winner |
| 1968 | Ib Spang Olsen | Denmark | Highly Commended |
| 1968 | Brian Wildsmith | UK | Highly Commended |
| 1968 | Roger Duvoisin | USA | Highly Commended |
| 1970 | Maurice Sendak | USA | Winner |
| 1970 | Ib Spang Olsen | Denmark | Highly Commended |
| 1970 | Ota Daihachi | Japan | Highly Commended |
| 1970 | Lidja Osterc | Yugoslavia | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Ib Spang Olsen | Denmark | Winner |
| 1972 | Elizabeth Cleaver | Canada | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Adolf Zábranský | Czechoslovakia | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Janosch | FRG | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Petros Zambellis [el] | Greece | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Björn Berg | Sweden | Highly Commended |
| 1972 | Felix Hoffmann | Switzerland | Highly Commended |
| 1974 | Farshid Mesghali | Iran | Winner |
| 1974 | Helga Aichinger [de] | Austria | Highly Commended |
| 1974 | Nicole Claveloux | France | Highly Commended |
| 1974 | Charles Keeping | UK | Highly Commended |
| 1976 | Tatjana Mawrina | Soviet Union | Winner |
| 1976 | Ľudovít Fulla | Czechoslovakia | Highly Commended |
| 1976 | Svend Otto S. [Wikidata] | Denmark | Highly Commended |
| 1978 | Svend Otto S. [da] | Denmark | Winner |
| 1978 | Leo & Diane Dillon | USA | Highly Commended |
| 1980 | Suekichi Akaba [Wikidata] | Japan | Winner |
| 1980 | Tomi Ungerer | France | Highly Commended |
| 1980 | Etienne Delessert | Switzerland | Highly Commended |
| 1982 | Zbigniew Rychlicki | Poland | Winner |
| 1984 | Mitsumasa Anno | Japan | Winner |
| 1984 | Helme Heine | FRG | Highly Commended |
| 1984 | Raymond Briggs | UK | Highly Commended |
| 1986 | Robert Ingpen | Australia | Winner |
| 1986 | Adolf Born | Czechoslovakia | Highly Commended |
| 1988 | Dušan Kállay [Wikidata] | Czechoslovakia | Winner |
| 1988 | Yasuo Segawa | Japan | Highly Commended |
| 1990 | Lisbeth Zwerger | Austria | Winner |
| 1992 | Květa Pacovská | Czechoslovakia | Winner |
| 1994 | Jörg Müller [Wikidata] | Switzerland | Winner |
| 1996 | Klaus Ensikat [Wikidata] | Germany | Winner |
| 1998 | Tomi Ungerer | France | Winner |
| 1998 | Binette Schroeder | Germany | Finalist |
| 1998 | Dick Bruna | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 1998 | Stasys Eidrigevičius | Poland | Finalist |
| 2000 | Anthony Browne | United Kingdom | Winner |
| 2000 | Rotraut Susanne Berner | Germany | Finalist |
| 2000 | Boris Diodorov | Russia | Finalist |
| 2000 | Maria Lucija Stupica | Slovenia | Finalist |
| 2002 | Quentin Blake | United Kingdom | Winner |
| 2002 | Grégoire Solotareff | France | Finalist |
| 2002 | Rotraut Susanne Berner | Germany | Finalist |
| 2002 | Daihachi Ohta | Japan | Finalist |
| 2004 | Max Velthuijs | Netherlands | Winner |
| 2004 | Rotraut Susanne Berner | Germany | Finalist |
| 2004 | Roberto Innocenti [Wikidata] | Italy | Finalist |
| 2004 | Javier Serrano (illustrator) [es] | Spain | Finalist |
| 2004 | Grégoire Solotareff | France | Finalist |
| 2006 | Wolf Erlbruch | Germany | Winner |
| 2006 | Lilian Brøgger | Denmark | Finalist |
| 2006 | Etienne Delessert | Switzerland | Finalist |
| 2006 | Isol Misenta | Argentina | Finalist |
| 2006 | Grégoire Solotareff | France | Finalist |
| 2006 | Klaas Verplancke | Belgium | Finalist |
| 2008 | Roberto Innocenti [Wikidata] | Italy | Winner |
| 2008 | Isol Misenta | Argentina | Finalist |
| 2008 | Svjetlan Junaković | Croatia | Finalist |
| 2008 | Adolf Born | Czech Republic | Finalist |
| 2008 | David Wiesner | USA | Finalist |
| 2010 | Jutta Bauer | Germany | Winner |
| 2010 | Carll Cneut | Belgium | Finalist |
| 2010 | Etienne Delessert | Switzerland | Finalist |
| 2010 | Svjetlan Junaković | Croatia | Finalist |
| 2010 | Roger Mello | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2012 | Peter Sís | Czech Republic | Winner |
| 2012 | John Burningham | UK | Finalist |
| 2012 | Roger Mello | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2012 | Mohammad Ali Beniasadi | Iran | Finalist |
| 2012 | Javier Zabala | Spain | Finalist |
| 2014 | Roger Mello | Brazil | Winner |
| 2014 | Rotraut Susanne Berner | Germany | Finalist |
| 2014 | John Burningham | UK | Finalist |
| 2014 | Eva Lindström | Sweden | Finalist |
| 2014 | François Place | France | Finalist |
| 2014 | Øyvind Torseter | Norway | Finalist |
| 2016 | Rotraut Susanne Berner | Germany | Winner |
| 2016 | Alessandro Sanna | Italy | Finalist |
| 2016 | Suzy Lee | South Korea | Finalist |
| 2016 | Marit Törnqvist | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 2016 | Pejman Rahimizadeh | Iran | Finalist |
| 2018 | Igor Oleynikov [Wikidata] | Russia | Winner |
| 2018 | Pablo Bernasconi | Argentina | Finalist |
| 2018 | Linda Wolfsgruber | Austria | Finalist |
| 2018 | Xiong Liang | China | Finalist |
| 2018 | Iwona Chmielewska | Poland | Finalist |
| 2018 | Albertine Zullo | Switzerland | Finalist |
| 2020 | Albertine Zullo | Switzerland | Winner |
| 2020 | Isabelle Arsenault | Canada | Finalist |
| 2020 | Seizo Tashima | Japan | Finalist |
| 2020 | Sylvia Weve | Netherlands | Finalist |
| 2020 | Iwona Chmielewska | Poland | Finalist |
| 2020 | Elena Odriozola | Spain | Finalist |
| 2022 | Suzy Lee | South Korea | Winner |
| 2022 | Beatrice Alemagna | Italy | Finalist |
| 2022 | Ryoji Arai | Japan | Finalist |
| 2022 | Iwona Chmielewska | Poland | Finalist |
| 2022 | Gusti | Argentina | Finalist |
| 2022 | Sydney Smith | Canada | Finalist |
| 2024 | Sydney Smith | Canada | Winner |
| 2024 | Cai Gao | China | Finalist |
| 2024 | Iwona Chmielewska | Poland | Finalist |
| 2024 | Nelson Cruz | Brazil | Finalist |
| 2024 | Elena Odriozola | Spain | Finalist |
| 2024 | Paloma Valdivia | Chile | Finalist |

## Winners by country

The winners are most often residents of Europe and North America; the first winner from outside that region was Farshid Mesghali in 1974, from Iran. After receiving the award, many authors and illustrators have their works gain wider recognition, particularly in the form of more translations. As of 2024 there have been award winners from 29 countries. Americans have won the most writing awards (6) and have the most award winners (7). Germans have won the most illustration awards with four.
| Country | Illustration | Writing | No. of winners |
| United States | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Germany | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Japan | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Czechoslovakia | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Brazil | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Denmark | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| France | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Austria | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Sweden | — | 2 | 2 |
| Argentina | — | 1 | 1 |
| Canada | 1 | — | 1 |
| China | — | 1 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 1 | — | 1 |
| Finland | — | 1 | 1 |
| Israel | — | 1 | 1 |
| Iran | 1 | — | 1 |
| Ireland | — | 1 | 1 |
| South Korea | 1 | — | 1 |
| New Zealand | — | 1 | 1 |
| Norway | — | 1 | 1 |
| Spain | — | 1 | 1 |
| Poland | 1 | — | 1 |
| Russia | 1 | — | 1 |
| Soviet Union | 1 | — | 1 |