Read with Me among the Nominees for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017

On 20 October 2016, Nominees for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017, the richest award in children’s literature, were announced. From Iran, Read with Me with 7 other nominees are on this list. Touran Mirhadi, trainer, promoter of reading and founder of Children’s Book Council, Farshid Mesghali, illustrator, Houshang Moradi Kermani, author, Pejman Rahimizadeh, illustrator, Mostafa Rahmandoust, author, Farhad Hasanzadeh, author and the project of Mobile Library in Iran are other nominated candidates from Iran.

Touran Mirhadi, trainer, promoter of reading and founder of Children’s Book Council is one of the candidates for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017

Touran Mirhadi, trainer, promoter of reading and founder of Children’s Book Council among the nominated candidates for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017

Jury chairman Professor Boel Westin announced 226 candidates from 60 countries, of which 63 are nominated for the first time. “The nomination list is a gold mine for anyone interested in international children’s and YA literature. I hope that this list will be spread and used in all possible situations concerning reading and storytelling”, she said in this ceremony.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an international children’s literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honor the Swedish children’s author Astrid Lindgren (1907–۲۰۰۲). It is the richest award in children’s literature and the second or third richest literary prize in the world.

The Lindgren Award annually recognizes one or more living people and extant institutions, people for their career contributions and institutions for their long-term sustainable work. Specifically, they should be “authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and promoters of reading” whose “work is of the highest quality, and in the spirit of Astrid Lindgren.”

The laureates of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award are appointed by a jury with knowledge of international children’s and young adult literature, reading promotion and children’s rights. The jury members are appointed for a four-year period at a time by the board of the Swedish Arts Council. The jury invites organizations from all over the world to nominate candidates. These nominating bodies must have a good knowledge of authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and reading promoters in their countries or regions.

In Iran, Institute for research on the history of children’s literature, Children’s Book Council and Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults can nominate their candidates for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Read with Me has also won IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award in 2016.