Latest News

2/12/2024— The following were selected to serve as members of the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury: Brenda Dales (USA), Diana Laura Kovach (Argentina), Giorgia Grilly (Italy), Holly Tonks (UK), Maare Müürsepp (Estonia), Margaret Anne Suggs (Ireland), Morgane Vasta (France), Nadia El Koly (Egypt), Shailaja Menon (India) and Tan Fengxia (China). The Jury will work under the guidance of Jury President Shereeh Kreidieh (Lebanon). IBBY Executive Director Carolina Ballester is an ex officio Jury member. 
Read the full release here. 

24/09/2024— The IBBY Members elected Basarat Kazim as IBBY President for the term 2024-2026 and renewed its Executive Committee at the 2024 General Assembly which took place on 31 August as part of the 39th IBBY Congress in Trieste, Italy. Shereen Kreidieh was elected as 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury President during the Assembly. Read the full release here. 

28/08/24—The second IBBY Asia-Pacific newsletter is out, with news from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korean, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Vietnam

20/06/2024— The 2024 IBBY Honour List features 184 high quality titles from 59 countries, including 68 entries in the category of Writing; 55 in the category Illustration; and 61 in the category Translation. Discover the list of children's books creators nominated to the prestigious list here.

17/06/2024— The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) stands by the principles endorsed in the United Nations Human Rights Conventions, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child and urges all global leaders to work together on behalf of the children of Gaza...

Read full statement 

28/05/2024—Read the latest newsletter from the IBBY Europe network here and hear about the events of our sections in the region!

05/04/2024 – The IBBY Press Conference will take place on Monday 8 April 2024, 3:00pm–4:15pm at the Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators' Café. The event will be broadcasted on the IBBY Youtube channel.
The annual Press Conference presents the work of IBBY throughout the year and highlights its most important events, including the 39th World Congress (Trieste, 30 Aug–1 Sept, 2024) and the 2024 International Children's Book Day. It is also the much-expected occasion to discover the winners of the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award and the IBBY Reading Promotions Awards. Download full programme here.

Visit the IBBY stand at the Bologna Children's Book Fair (Hall 29 C45)

4/03/2024 – After two successful editions in 2022 and 2023, the IBBY Sections of Latin America and Spain will once again celebrate literature for children and the youth though an online seminar organized on the theme of 'Courage' (Valentía) and bringing together a splendid line-up of writers and illustrators in race for the most important awards in 2024. Participation is free upon registration. Click here for more details.

9/02/2024 – Since 2018, the Hans Christian Andersen Jury is invited to create a selection of about twenty outstanding titles from the 2024 nominees that they felt were important enough to merit translation everywhere so that children around the world could read them. The list crafted by the 2024 Jury is now available on the IBBY website. Read more

29/01/2024 — IBBY Japan is the 2024 International Children’s Book Day official sponsor, under the motto "Cross the Seas on the Wings of Imagination". This year’s ICBD programme is the result of a collaboration between writer Eiko Kadono and artist Nani Furiya. Together, they have paid a vibrant tribute to imagination. Find out more.

18/01/2024 — The International Board on Books for Young People is proud to announce the Shortlist for the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award. Read the full Press Release and visit the Hans Christian Andersen Award web page to read more about the shortlisted candidates. 

20/12/2023—Read the latest newsletter from the IBBY Europe network here and hear about the events of our sections in the region!

16/11/23 - As a non-governmental organization advocating for international understanding through children's books and upholding the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) joins the worldwide call for an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza. For all of us who have committed a lifetime to serving children, we cannot bear the continuing loss of children's lives.

Read full statement

13/10/2023 —The 2023 edition of the International Youth Library’s annual recommendation list "The White Ravens" has been published.

12/10/2023 — The 75^th Frankfurt Book Fair starts on 18 October 2023! In the scope of the Frankfurt Book Fair Guest of Honour programme dedicated to Slovenia, many interesting events, exhibitions and workshops will take place. Discover some of the programme highlights. 

10/10/2023 — The International Board on Books for Young People announces its support to the Ljubljana Manifesto on the Importance of Higher-Level Reading, which was published today 10 October 2023, to address the decline of reading skills as one of the urgent challenges that now confront society. Read the full press release.

02/10/2023 —The winners of IBBY Chile's 2023 Colibrí Medal have been announced! Visit their official website to know more (in Spanish).

08/09/2023 —After a few years of interruption, the IBBY Asia-Pacific Newsletter is back. In this bulletin you will find echoes from 10 national sections—IBBY Australia, IBBY Cambodia, IBBY Indonesia (INABBY), IBBY Japan (JBBY), IBBY Republic of Korea (KBBY), IBBY Malaysia (MBBY), IBBY Mongolia, IBBY New Zealand, IBBY Sri Lanka and IBBY Thailand (ThaiBBY)—sharing their major activities since the beginning of 2023. The 38^th IBBY Congress hosted by MBBY, which took place in Putrajaya, Malaysia in September 2022 is featured as well.

We hope you will enjoy reading it.

23/08/2023 — The new Bookbird issue 2 / 2023 (Vol. 61.2) is out. Find more information here, including Focus IBBY.

28/07/2023 — The official website for the 39th IBBY Congress in Trieste, Italy, is now online! You can read more about it in the third IBBY International Newsletter of 2023.

03/07/2023 — The IBBY Library in Lampedusa, Italy, is calling for volunteers for the IBBY Camp Lampedusa from 22 to 29 October 2023. All IBBY volunteers who would like to help in inventing new ways of using and enjoying books can take part in the continuing development of the IBBY Library that covets an amazing collection of Silent Books.

Registrations are open until 29 September. Please check the call for volunteers for more information or visit the Facebook page IBBY Library in Lampedusa for more details about the IBBY Camp.

03/07/2023 — On 25 June, at the REFORMA annual Fundraiser and Awards Celebration held at the American Library Association (ALA), the Jella Lepman medal was awarded to Patrick Sullivan (USA) for his extraordinary work for the IBBY REFORMA's Children in Crisis Project supporting migrant children detained in the south western USA. 

Patrick Sullivan has played a vital role in the IBBY REFORMA’s Children in Crisis Project since 2015, when the first visit took place to the US Mexico border in response to the first wave of hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in the US. Ever since then, the IBBY REFORMA project has been doing exceptional work all along the border, and Patrick has been essential to its development and execution.

A full updated report on the IBBY-REFORMA actions was released in March on the IBBY website.

30/06/2023 — Save the date – the 2023 International Congress “Reading the 21st Century” ("Congreso Internacional Lectura 2023: Para leer el XXI") is taking place on 23–27 October in Havana, Cuba!

IBBY Cuba will bring together numerous Latin American and Caribbean specialists, from within and outside the IBBY network, to discuss the creation, production, promotion and research of books for babies, children and young people. Within the scope of the congress, the 11th IBBY-Yamada workshop “We Work for the Children” will also be held, led by E. Gallego and Enrique Perez Díaz (IBBY Cuba), G. Dreyer (IBBY Uruguay), Nora Lía Sormani (IBBY Argentina), and Rodrigo Ures (Cátedra Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Lectura y Escritura).

For more information on call for papers, programme and registration, visit the official website (in Spanish).

19/06/2023 — It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the passing of Anne Pellowski: writer, storyteller and a major witness of IBBY’s history – having worked with Jella Lepman herself when she spent the academic year of 1955–56 at the International Youth Library.

Anne Pellowski devoted her life to bringing literacy to children worldwide. She started her career as a librarian and storyteller in the New York Public Library system, but became the founding director of the Information Center on Children's Cultures later on, a role she undertook for almost 20 years between 1966–1983, and was responsible for the organization’s international efforts. In this function, Pellowski travelled to developing countries, organizing and evaluating libraries and child literacy programs.

She served not only in the USA section of IBBY, but also in the IBBY Executive Committee in the 1970s and later from 2002 to 2006, and was Honorary Member of IBBY since 2010. In 2020 she was nominated for the IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award.

Anne Pellowski leaves us a multifaceted legacy that embraces many aspects of children’s literature, from storytelling, writing, and editing, to reading promotion, collecting folk tales, and assuring the continuation of oral literature. She was a true champion of reading and storytelling, as well as passionate about valuing local indigenous languages.

Our thoughts are with her family and with all those who worked with her to bring literacy and a love of story to children worldwide.

25/05/2023 — Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature is seeking contributions for a special issue on Italian Children’s literature: "Beyond Pinocchio, Cuore, and Telephone Tales: Exploring Contemporary Italian Children’s Literature". More information.

23/05/2023 — The first IBBY European Newsletter of 2023 is out! Read it here. 

03/05/2023 — The new Bookbird issue 2 / 2023 (Vol. 61.2) is out. Find more information here, including Focus IBBY.

02/05/2023 — The 2^nd Iberian-American Seminar on Children’s and Youth Literature will take place online on 16 and 17 May. It is a great opportunity to get to know projects developed in the Iberian, and in the South and Central American countries with an IBBY Section, as well as to reflect and share experiences about the world of children’s and youth literature. Check the program and register.

26/04/2023 — In February 2023, a series of violent earthquakes shook the south-east of Turkey and the neighbouring regions of Syria, affecting 15 million people (including more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees) in 11 Turkish provinces. Since then Turkey has witnessed a major domestic migration with nearly 2 million finding refuge to almost every region of the country. Many children have been left orphans. It took no longer than 4 days after the disaster for Çocuk ve Gençlik Yayınları Derneği–IBBY Turkey to start planning an initiative to support children in the affected areas.

IBBY Turkey is currently working on the establishment of a children’s library located inside a prefabricated cultural centre under construction in the town of Nurdağı, in collaboration with the local authorities of Gaziantep, one of the most affected provinces. The opening of this library is scheduled for the end of May. In July, a similar library will open in Islahiye, a town located a few kilometres away from the Syrian border, now mainly made of tents and containers. These prefabricated libraries are key as they will serve as temporary learning spaces until the education programme is resumed and children are able to return to school. They will also be a safe haven for children to find comfort through books and reading amidst destruction.

Read more and donate

12/04/2023 — IBBY México's 2023 Children's Book Guide / Guía de libros infantiles y juveniles is now online. Discover the selected books at ibbymexico.org.mx.

07/03/2023 — Read the full press release or visit our Hans Christian Andersen Award page to discover the nominees.

22/02/2023 — The first IBBY International Newsletter of 2023 is now available online.

22/02/2023 — USBBY's 2023 Outstanding International Books List is now available online. The List is published each year and is curated by an expert committee in charge of selecting the most outstanding international books of the year. Visit USBBY's website to discover the selected books.

15/02/2023 — The new Bookbird issue 1 / 2023 (Vol. 61.1) is out! Find more information here, including Focus IBBY.

07/02/2023 — It is with profound sadness that IBBY hears about the passing of renowned Czech artist Květa Pacovská.

An inspiration and reference for generations of children’s illustrators around the world, she received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in Illustration in 1992 for her immeasurable contribution to picture book art. She leaves us beautiful illustrations that are internationally known for their geometric shapes and vibrant colours. Among them is, of course, our beloved ‘IBBY cat’.

Her memory is forever associated with IBBY. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.

27/01/2023 — The 2023 IBBY Selection of Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities will be launched in March at the 2023 Bologna Children's Book Fair.

It encompasses 40 new titles from 22 countries A list of all the amazing books featured in the 2023 Selection is now online.

20/01/2023 — IBBY Greece is the 2023 International Children’s Book Day official sponsor. This year’s ICBD poster is the result of a collaboration between writer Vagelis Iliopoulos and illustrator Photini Stephanidi. Together, they wanted to celebrate the power of children’s books in promoting values of equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as connecting people through tolerance and understanding. Find out more.

11/01/2023 — It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Evangeline Ledi Barongo, long-time president of IBBY Uganda and admired member of our community.

She was a founding member of the Uganda Children's Writers and Illustrators Association (UCWIA), as well as member of the Reading Association of Uganda (RAU), and the Uganda Library and Information Association (ULIA), and also served on the board of the National Book Trust of Uganda (NABOTU) since its formation in 1997.

Ms Barongo was a passionate reading promoter both in Uganda and abroad, a recognised member of the academic community and a beloved author for children. Her books were published in English and in Runyoro, her native language, and won several awards in the book community at local and international levels, including the NABOTU Children's Author of the Year in 2004 and 2008.

IBBY’s thoughts are with IBBY Uganda, with her family and loved ones.

18/11/2022 — The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international distinction in the field of books for young people. Given every other year by IBBY, the Awards recognise lifelong achievement and are given to a writer and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s and youth literature.

The following were selected to serve as members of the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury under the guidance of Jury President, Anastasia Arkhipova (Russia): Evelyn Arizpe (Mexico/UK), Brenda Dales (USA), Sabine Fuchs (Austria), Diana Laura Kovach (Argentina), Shereeh Kreidieh (Lebanon), Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer (Germany), Jaana Pesonen (Finland), Tan Fengxia (China), Pavle Učakar (Slovenia) and Morgane Vasta (France). IBBY Executive Director Carolina Ballester is an ex officio Jury member. 

Read the full press release here.

IBBY is working with the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children to learn about the principles of the Global Sustainable Development Goals through a curated reading list of books from around the world.

The recommended book lists for the last goal, Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals, is now available here. More information and other SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

In the middle of extremely difficult conditions, IBBY Ukraine held an online conference with the theme of "Library for Children: Users, Community, Society" on 18 October. The conference explored the themes of restoration, preservation and support of cultural institutions, including children's libraries. IBBY President, Sylvia Vardell, made a welcome address where she expressed support for Ukraine and the courageous librarians who never left the children for a moment and continued to provide them psychological support in addition to library services. Her welcome address can be found on YouTube here and more information and impressions can be found on the website of IBBY Ukraine.

Ellis Vance (USA) was named Honorary Member of IBBY at the IBBY Congress in Putrajaya, for his exemplary contribution to IBBY and USBBY.  Honorary Membership is bestowed in gratitude and in recognition of outstanding contribution to the development of IBBY. 

Ellis has been an active member of USBBY for over twenty years, most recently as Executive Director. He also served as IBBY Vice President from 2006-2008 and has been IBBY Treasurer since then, as well as serving as Treasurer for Bookbird Inc.

IBBY is working with the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children to learn about the principles of the Global Sustainable Development Goals through a curated reading list of books from around the world.

The recommended book lists for Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions is now available here. More information and other SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

Voces & Tintas is the regional magazine of the IBBY sections from Latin America and Caribbean. 
Spanish version / English version

In 2020, CERLALC together with the IBBY National Sections of Latin America and the Caribbean created a catalogue of children's books on the theme of Sustainable Development: Leer, imaginar, actuar (Reading, imagining, acting). This catalogue was an impressive collection of 46 children's books from the region with the themes of climate change and environmental sustainability, along the lines of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

At the end of  2021, the second beautiful catalogue, Leer, imaginar, actuar, was published with a collection of 72 books on the theme of sustainabilty. The new catalogue, in Spanish, can be viewed here.

The first catalogue, in Spanish, can be viewed here. A description of the goals of the catalogue and contributors, in English, can be found here.

Read the fascinating interviews with the winners of the 2022 IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award: Zohreh Ghaeni and Jane Kurtz.

IBBY is working with the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children to learn about the principles of the Global Sustainable Development Goals through a curated reading list of books from around the world.

The recommended book lists for Goal 15: Life on Land is now available here. More information and other SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

Voces & Tintas is the regional magazine of the IBBY sections from Latin America and Caribbean. 
English version
Spanish version

IBBY supports the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children to learn about the principles of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development through a curated reading list of books from around the world.

The latest reading list for Goal 14: Life below Water is now available here. More information and prior SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

IBBY supports the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children to learn about the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals through a curated reading list of books from around the world. To see the latest selection go to: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdgbookclub/. More information and prior SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

IBBY supports the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children ages 6-12 to learn about the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals through a curated reading list of books from around the world. To see the latest selection go to: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdgbookclub/. More information and prior SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

African children’s books on sustainability and equality highlighted through the latest SDG Book Club. Read the full press release here.

IBBY supports the UN SDG Book Club, which aims to use books as a tool to encourage children ages 6-12 to learn about the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals through a curated reading list of books from around the world.
To see the latest selection go to: www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdgbookclub/. More information and prior SDG Book Club selections can be found here.

The Focus IBBY section of Bookbird, a summary of the latest IBBY activities and events, is available to read and download from the IBBY website. The latest issue can be viewed here.

The Focus IBBY section of Bookbird, a summary of the latest IBBY activities and events, is now available to read on the IBBY website. Go to Focus IBBY 1/2020 and Focus IBBY 2/2020 or to  Bookbird.

The enormous warehouse explosion on 4 August caused catastrophic damage throughout Beirut, affecting schools and libraries. IBBY Lebanon (LBBY), with its years of experience in helping traumatized children and re-building libraries, will work with local schools to help them rebuild their libraries. The project will depend on the generosity and dedication of IBBY friends across the world.

To read more and make a donation click here.

The Sustainable Development Goals Book Club presents a selection of books for children from 5 to 12 years focussing on each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The book selections are in the six official languages of the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. IBBY members are supporting the project by identifying titles in these six languages and contributing to the selection juries. 

More information on the SDG Book Club under https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdgbookclub/ and here.