INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN – Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCY-Kanoon) announced on Tuesday its nominees for
the 2023 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA).Accordingly, writer Hamidreza Shahabadi and illustrator Reza Dalvand will be competing for
the prestigious award, which is presented by the Swedish government every year to promote children’s and youths’ literature in the
world.The Institute for Research on History of Children’s Literature and the Children’s Book Council of Iran are other Iranian cultural
centers allowed to select Iran’s nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.Shahabadi, who was nominated for the award in 2021 and
2022, is also the manager of Madreseh Publications, a publisher of school textbooks.He is the author of “A Smiling Banana”, which was
selected by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) for its 2021 Collection for Young People with Disabilities.He has also
written “No One Dares to Do That”, a thriller published in braille
His credits also include “Goethe Street Café”, “When Moji Was Lost” and “Vertical Cemetery”.32-year-old Dalvand is the
illustrator of dozens of books, including “Where Is My House?” and “The Gluttonous Washing Machine”, “Gulistan” and “Mrs
Bibi’s Elephant”.His works have been showcased in many solo and group exhibitions in England, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine and several
other countries. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award amounts to SEK 5 million (about €570,000), making it the world’s largest award for
children’s and young adults’ literature.The award was established in 2002 by the Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs to
commemorate Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren and to promote children’s and youths’ literature from around the world.Every year, more than
250 individuals and organizations around the world are nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
The candidates are authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and reading promoters.The twelve-member jury has the challenging but pleasant
task of evaluating candidates each year and selecting one laureate (or several).The jury will announce the 2023 laureate in March at the
Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy.Swedish illustrator Eva Lindstrom won the ALMA 2022
She has published some 35 solo titles and has illustrated many books by other authors
Her work has been honored with multiple awards.Photo: A file photo shows copies of books illustrated by Iranian artist Reza Dalvand.MMS/YAW
