The International Board on Books for Young People has announced the shortlist for the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. Presented every two years, the awards honor international authors and illustrators for their contributions to children’s literature, and are the highest international recognition given to creators in the field.
Authors:
Ahmad Akbarpour from Iran
María José Ferrada from Chile
Timothée de Fombelle from France
Lee Geum-yi from the Republic of Korea
Pam Muñoz Ryan from the United States
Michael Rosen from the United Kingdom
Illustrators:
Beatrice Alemagna from Italy
Linda Bondestam from Finland
Cai Gao from China
Gundega Muzikante from Latvia
Walid Taher from Egypt
María Wernicke from Argentina
The shortlisted authors and illustrators were chosen from a list of 78 nominations from 44 countries, on a 10-member jury led by Shereen Kreidieh, founder of Arabic children’s publishing house Dar Asala and president of the Lebanese Board of Books for Young People.
The two winners will be announced at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on April 13. The medals will be presented at the 40th IBBY World Congress, to be held August 6–9 in Ottawa, Canada.
