News Release 3 /2006-2008

May 2007/ep

Every other year IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Award to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s literature. The Andersen Awards are the highest international distinction given to an author and an illustrator of children’s books.

At its recent meeting in Bologna, the IBBY Executive Committee elected the international Jury for the 2008 Awards. The Jury comprises ten members nominated by the National Sections of IBBY. The candidates for the 2008 Awards will be made known in June 2007 and the results will be announced at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on 31 March 2008. The Awards will be presented to the winners at the 31st IBBY Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, 7 September 2008. Zohreh Ghaeni (Tehran, Iran) will guide the process and preside at the jury meeting. IBBY Vice President Elda Nogueira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and IBBY Director of Members, Policy and Project Development Liz Page are ex officio members of the Jury.

The ten members of the Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury 2008 are as follows:

• Alicia Salvi, professor of language and literature and an expert on children's literature at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Annemie Leysen, lecturer, reviewer, critic and publicist from Heverlee, Belgium.
• Francine Sarrasin, art historian from Quebec, Canada.
• Nadia El Kholy, assistant professor for children's literature at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Cairo, Egypt.
• Isabelle Nières Chevrel, emeritus professor in general and comparative literature at the University of Rennes, France.
• Bill Nagelkerke, director of children's and young adult services at Christchurch City Library, New Zealand.
• Nataliya Avgustinovich, art critic and director of Agentstvo (art agency) at the International Confederation of Artist's Union, Moscow, Russia.
• María Jesús Gil, publisher from Madrid, Spain.
• Helene Schär, Editor of Baobab Books, Basel, Switzerland.
• Junko Yokota, professor and director, Centre for Teaching through Children's Books, National-Louis University, Chicago IL, USA

May 2007/E.Page