To write for children is to speak of truth, tenderness, and enduring hope
Maria Jose Ferrada
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children's books. Given every other year by IBBY, the Hans Christian Andersen Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are given to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature. The Winners of the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Awards will be announced at the IBBY Annual Press Conference on 13 April 2026 at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
I am thrilled to see Timothée de Fombelle from France; Pam Muñoz Ryan from United States; and Michael Rosen from United Kingdom because I know their work and also Beatrice Alemagna from Italy nominated for illustration. Now I will dig deeper into the work of the other short-listed nominees. Our Australian nominees were Bruce Whatley and Emily Rodda (they didn't make the short list). Here is a list of all the 2026 nominees from around the world.
Timothee de Frombelle
(This is one of my favourite books for readers aged 11+)
I read this book many years ago. Parts of the plot still linger with me. This book is a mammoth one to read but the story is so beautifully crafted. A rich reading experience.
Read my profile of Michael Rosen
Here are a few brief facts about each of the short-listed candidates.:
Ahmad Akbarpour: One of Iran’s most celebrated authors for young readers, with over fifty books to his name. He was shortlisted for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2023 and 2025.
Timothée de Fombelle: In 2006, his debut novel Tobie Lolness: La vie suspendue (Toby Alone) — the story of a boy one and a half millimeters tall fighting to save his world, a giant oak tree — became an international sensation, translated into over 30 languages and hailed as a modern classic for its moral depth and visionary worldbuilding. Other books include Captain Rosalie and Celeste My Planet.
María José Ferrada: She has since published over sixty books across genres and age groups, translated into more than twenty languages. Her work is marked by quiet precision and emotional depth — celebrating small wonders (a cloud, a word, a gesture) while confronting heavy histories: dictatorship, exile, injustice.
Lee Geum-yi: Lee’s work consistently centers marginalized voices — women, migrants, disabled individuals, non-traditional families — and challenges adult stereotypes that harm young lives.
Pam Muñoz Ryan: Ryan’s award-winning works — including The Dreamer (2010) and Echo (2015) — explore identity, social justice, and the transformative power of music and storytelling, all rendered in lyrical prose with deeply authentic characters. Her stories celebrate cultural diversity, resilience, and the human spirit — inviting empathy across borders and generations. Here is her web page.
Michael Rosen: He has written over 200 books — for children and adults — often collaborating with illustrators like Quentin Blake, Tony Ross, and Helen Oxenbury. As Children’s Laureate (2007–2009), he championed poetry in classrooms.
Linda Bondestam: she is one of the Nordic region’s most distinctive and celebrated illustrators — known for her bold, evolving “Bondestamian” style: rich, dark palettes that make jewel-toned highlights pop, layered textures, and whimsical, miniature creatures that scurry through her pages. Her work thrives on contrast — visual, emotional, and narrative — blending humor, mystery, and quiet wonder. Characters are richly detailed, each hinting at hidden stories the reader is invited to imagine. Her books — over forty illustrated, several authored — are published across Finland and Sweden, and translated into more than a dozen languages, including Arabic, German, Russian, and Turkish.
Cai Gao: Her style is richly versatile: blending Western textures, Chinese folk art’s vigor, and classical painting’s elegance.
Gundega Muzikante: Over more than thirty years, she has illustrated over seventy children’s books, her distinctive visual language also appearing in animated features such as Cuckoo and Her 12 Husbands and on commemorative Latvian collector coins. Her illustrations are celebrated for their warmth, humor, and meticulous detail — inviting readers to return again and again, discovering new layers with each look. She was twice nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2020, 2025), and is a nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018 and 2026.
Walid Taher: His books encourage empathy, self-awareness, and imagination — values he sees as essential to raising thoughtful readers. Taher has illustrated over ninety children’s books, more than thirty of which he authored himself. His work has been translated into multiple languages and recognized with honors including the Kaheel Lifetime Achievement Award.
María Wernicke: Since 1981, she has worked independently as a graphic designer, and in 1994, she published her first illustrated book. Over the following decades, she has illustrated dozens of titles published across Argentina, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. in 2006, her debut as author-illustrator, One and Another, won the Outstanding Book Award for Best Picture Book from Argentina’s ALIJA and represented the country at the 2007 Biennial of Illustration Bratislava. In 2012, it was named one of Argentina’s ten best picture books and included in IFLA’s global project “The World through Picture Books.”
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