The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards by the International Board on Books for Young People, recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". The writing award was inaugurated 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, the 19th-century Danish author of fairy tales, and each winner receives the Hans Christian Andersen Medaille, a gold medal with the bust of Andersen. Medals are presented at the biennial IBBY Congress. The Patron of the Andersen Awards is Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and the awards are sponsored by Nami Island Inc.
Process
National Sections of IBBY may nominate one author and one illustrator each and the Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury considers only those nominees. National Sections also nominate the ten distinguished, international Jury Members plus the Jury President. The shortlist of nominees is presented in January and the award winners are announced at the annual Bologna Children's Book Fair, in March or April. The selection criteria include the aesthetic and literary qualities of writing and illustrating as well as the ability to see things from the child's point of view and the ability to stretch the child's curiosity and imagination. The complete works of the author and of the illustrator will be taken into consideration.
Winners
See also "Hans Christian Andersen Award Winners 1956–2018" The 2020 winners are Jacqueline Woodson for writing and Albertine for illustration. The runners-up are:
established the International Youth Library in Munich in 1949 and organised the 1952 conference "International Understanding through Children's Books" that led to the establishment of IBBY in Zurich in 1953. She 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.
