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| From left, writer Lee Geum-yi and illustrator Kwon Yoon-duck have been selected as the Korean nominees for the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award by the Korean Board on Books for Young People (KBBY). The organization has also named author Yoo Eun-sil, right, as the nominee for the 2024 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Courtesy of KBBY |
By Park Han-sol
The list of Korean nominees for the 2024 edition of the distinguished international children's literature awards was announced on Saturday.
Writer Lee Geum-yi and illustrator Kwon Yoon-duck have been nominated for the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award (HCAA), according to the Korean Board on Books for Young People (KBBY).
Also referred to as the "Little Nobel Prize," the HCAA is the highest international recognition given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) to both an author and an illustrator for their lifelong contributions to children's literature. Named in honor of the 19th-century Danish author of celebrated fairy tales, the prize is awarded biennially based on the unique aesthetic and literary qualities of the nominees' body of works, after each country's branch of the IBBY recommends its candidates.
Last year, picture book artist Lee Suzy made headlines after becoming the first Korean illustrator to have ever been honored for the prize.
Writer Lee Geum-yi has published more than 50 books throughout her four-decade-long literary career, including "The Picture Bride," her first novel translated into English. The historical fiction revolves around three young Korean girls who leave their homeland in 1918 to marry immigrant workers in Hawaii after the respective couples see each other only through photographs via a matchmaker.
Illustrator Kwon, whose realistic drawings take cues from traditional Korean folk paintings, has a number of iconic titles under her belt, such as "My Cat Copies Me," "Flower Grandma" and "Pikaia."
KBBY has also named author Yoo Eun-sil as the nominee for the 2024 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
The award, established by the Swedish government to honor the country's celebrated author of the "Pippi Longstocking" series, is the world's largest prize dedicated to children's and young adult literature. In 2020, Baek Hee-na, who is known for her best-selling book "Cloud Bread," became the first Korean recipient of the prize.
Writer Yoo's major works include "My Teacher Lindgren," "A Suburban Town" and "The Bunting Boy." Her "Lee Yujeong the Perfect" was included on the 2010 Honor List published by the IBBY.
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