TEHRAN – Iran’s nominees for the 2024 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) were unveiled by the Children’s Book Council of Iran on Saturday.

Writer Ali-Asghar Seyyedabadi, illustrator Alireza Golduzian and reading promoter Nader Musavi alongside nominees from around the world will compete for the prestigious Swedish prize for children’s literature.

Seyyedabadi has been nominated in the competition for reading promoters.

He has been picked for 33 years of outstanding and sustainable activities as a reading promoter, creative and innovative ideation, designing and implementation of national and regional plans for reading and his efforts for establishing village libraries and bookstores, the Children’s Book Council of Iran said in a statement.

Golduzian will compete in the illustration category. He has been selected for his career spanning over two decades, his sustainable influence on the growth of children’s literature and the awards he has garnered at Iranian and international exhibitions. 

He has also been acknowledged for his key role in the development of children’s book illustration in Iran over the past two decades and the rich diversity of forms, spaces and characters in his works.

Afghan scholar Musavi was chosen as the council’s foreign nominee in the competition for reading promoters.

He received the nomination for over 22 years of intense, sustainable cultural activity for Afghan refugee children and academic research on educational plans for refugee children. He has also authored books promoting refugee children to maintain their connection with their homeland. He also travels across Iran every year to run reading programs in over 350 schools for Afghan migrant children.  

The ALMA jury will announce the 2024 laureate in March at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. 

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial 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.
  
The award amounts to SEK 5 million (about €570,000), making it the world’s largest award for children’s and young adults’ literature.

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 Children’s Book Council of Iran, Iran’s Association of Writers for Children and Youth, the Institute for Research on History of Children’s Literature, and the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCY-Kanoon) are four Iranian cultural centers allowed to select Iran’s nominations for the ALMA.

Photo: A combination photo shows the Children’s Book Council of Iran’s nominees Ali-Asghar Seyyedabadi, Alireza Golduzian and Nader Musavi for the 2024 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

MMS/YAW