The Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international honor given to creators of books for young readers, has announced the shortlist for its 2022 edition. In the U.S., author Linda Sue Park and illustrator Kadir Nelson have been nominated.

Given every other year by the International Board on Books for Young People, the award celebrates lifelong achievement and is given to an author and an illustrator whose work has made an enduring impact on literature for children and teens. Nominations are made by each national section of IBBY and are judged by an international jury of children’s literature specialists.

Sixty-two candidates from 33 countries have been nominated for the 2022 award:

Argentina: Author María Cristina Ramos; Illustrator Gusti

Australia: Author Margaret Wild; Illustrator Tohby Riddle

Austria: Author Heinz Janisch; Illustrator Linda Wolfsgruber

Belgium: Author Thomas Lavachery; Illustrator Carll Cneut

Brazil: Author Marina Colasanti; Illustrator Nelson Cruz

Canada: Author Angèle Delaunois; Illustrator Sydney Smith

China: Author Jin Bo; Illustrator Xiong Liang

Colombia and Venezuela: Illustrator Ivar Da Coll

Croatia: Illustrator Dubravka Kolanović

Cyprus: Author Anna Kouppanou; Illustrator Dora Oronti

Estonia: Author Andrus Kivirähk; Illustrator Piret Raud

France: Author Marie-Aude Murail; Illustrator Gilles Bachelet

Germany: Author Andreas Steinhöfel; Illustrator Nikolaus Heidelbach

Greece: Author Maria Papayanni; Illustrator Iris Samartzi

Hungary: Author András Dániel; Illustrator László Herbszt

Iran: Author Jamshid Khanian; Illustrator Pejman Rahimizadeh

Italy: Author Roberto Piumini; Illustrator Beatrice Alemagna

Japan: Author Joko Iwase; Illustrator Ryoji Arai

Republic of Korea: Author Yi Hyeon; Illustrator Suzy Lee

Latvia: Illustrator Aleksejs Naumovs

Lebanon: Author Fatima Sharafeddine; Illustrator Sinan Hallak

Lithuania: Illustrator Kestutis Kasparavičius

Netherlands: Author Tonke Dragt; Illustrator Sylvia Weve

Poland: Author Marcin Szczygielski; Illustrator Iwona Chmielewska

Russia: Author Sergey Makhotin; Illustrator Julja Gukova

Slovenia: Author Peter Svetina; Illustrator Damijan Stepančič

Spain: Author Jordi Sierra i Fabra; Illustrator Elena Odriozola

Sweden: Author Annika Thor; Illustrator Anna Bengtsson

Switzerland: Author Franz Hohler; Illustrator Catherine Louis

Turkey: Author Behiç Ak; Illustrator Mustafa Delioğlu

Ukraine: Author Halyna Malyk; Illustrator Kost Lavro

United Kingdom: Author Marcus Sedgwick; Illustrator David McKee

USA: Author Linda Sue Park; Illustrator Kadir Nelson

The shortlist will be announced in January 2022 and the winners will be revealed at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in March/April 2022.