TEHRAN-Ten Iranian authors, illustrators, and reading promoters along with a project have been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2024.

A total of 245 candidates from 68 countries have been nominated for the 2024 award. The list includes authors and illustrators, as well as storytellers and reading promoters. The laureate will be announced on April 9, 2024, ISNA reported.

The list of Iranian nominees for the world's largest award for children's and young adult literature includes authors Houshang Moradi Kermani, Farhad Hasanzadeh, Abbas Jahangirian, and Jamal Akrami, illustrators Alireza Goldouzian and Nahid Kazemi, author/illustrators Reza Dalvand and Rashin Kheiriyeh, reading promoters Farmehr Monjezi and Ali Asghar Seidabadi, as well as Read with Me project.

The global award is given annually to a person or organization for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. With a prize of five million Swedish kronor, it is the largest award of its kind. Above all else, it highlights the importance of reading, today and for future generations.

Houshang Moradi Kermani, 79, is best known for children’s and young adult fiction. His best-known books are “The Tales of Majid,” “The Boot,” “The Water Urn,” and “A Sweet Jam”. Some of his books have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, and Armenian, among others. Moreover, some of his books have been made into popular local movies and television shows.

Farhad Hassanzadeh, 61, is the co-founder of the Children and Young Adults Authors Institute, the largest NGO of Iranian authors. He has authored over 80 books in various genres from comedy to tragedy, including “The Backyard”, “An Umbrella with White Butterflies”, and “Snow and the Sun”. His books have been rendered into different languages, including English, Arabic, Turkish and Armenian. He has been awarded numerous national awards for his works.

Abbas Jahangirian, 69, has written numerous books for children and teenagers including “Hamoon and the Sea” and “New Year’s Day”. Some of his books have been translated to Armenian, Kazakh, Arabic, Turkish, Russian, and English. Iran's magnificent history, profound cultural heritage, and astonishing literary works, along with the preservation of nature's ecosystems, the protection of endangered forests and animals, promoting world peace, and conveying emotions of love and grief, resonates deeply in his works, while simultaneously addressing the struggles of teenagers and children.

Jamal Akrami, 66, is the writer of numerous children’s books, including “The Sole and the Sea,” “The Stranger and the Sea,” and “Children of the Moon,” a number of which have been translated into English, Spanish, Korean, Turkish and several other languages.

Alireza Goldouzian, 47, is an internationally recognized artist who has illustrated numerous books in Iran, as well as exhibiting his prize-winning children's book art around the world.

Nahid Kazemi is an illustrator and multidisciplinary artist who has published more than 65 children’s books. She is the winner of the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Awards in Canada. Her recent publications include “Shahrzad & The Angry King,” “The Sour Cherry Tree,” and “Under the Moon”.

Reza Dalvand, 34, is a member of Iranian Illustrators Society. He is the illustrator of dozens of books, including “Where Is My House?” and “Mrs. Bibi’s Elephant”. His works have been showcased in many solo and group exhibitions in Iran, England, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine and several other countries.

Rashin Kheiriyeh, 44, is an internationally recognized, award-winning illustrator/author who has published over 90 children's books in countries such as the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Spain, South Korea, China, Brazil, India, and Iran. She has received 50 national and international awards for her books. “Rumi, Poet of Joy and Love,” “The Book Tree,” and “The Pink Magician” are among her well-known books.

Farmehr Monjezi, 63, has been active for over three decades in promoting reading, authoring, translating, and editing books for children and teenagers. She has translated over 150 books and has been recognized with numerous awards for her outstanding contributions in promoting reading and translation.

Ali Asghar Seidabadi, 52, is a reading promoter and researcher on children and young adult’s literature. He has been, for over three decades, involved in activities to design and implement national and regional plans to promote reading and establish libraries and bookstores in rural areas.

Read with Me is a reading promotion project in Iran which takes books and book-related activities to deprived children all over the country. Initiated by the Institute for Research on History of Children’s Literature, the plan promotes the slogan “All children deserve to read quality books”.

Few have done more for the right of children to a rich inner life than Astrid Lindgren. The creator of stories beloved the world over, she was a renewer of children’s literature. She was also a steadfast humanist who made her voice heard in the public debate, speaking with moral conviction, with humor, and always with her focus on children and their future.

Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series including “Pippi Longstocking” and for the children's fantasy novels such as “The Brothers Lionheart”.

Lindgren worked on the Children's Literature Editorial Board at the Rabén & Sjögren publishing house in Stockholm and wrote more than 30 books for children. In 2017, she was calculated to be the world's 18th most translated author. Lindgren had by 2010 sold roughly 167 million books worldwide. In 1994, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for her unique authorship dedicated to the rights of children and respect for their individuality. Her opposition to corporal punishment of children resulted in the world's first law on the matter in 1979, while her campaigning for animal welfare led to a new law, Lex Lindgren, in time for her 80th birthday.

When, in 2002 at the age of 94, her voice finally fell silent, the Swedish Government decided to found an award to honor her memory and to promote interest in children’s and young adult literature around the world.

Administered by the Swedish Arts Council, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is awarded to those who continue to work in her spirit: with imagination, bravery, respect and empathy, and maintaining the highest level of artistic excellence. The laureates are chosen by a twelve-member expert jury.

The attention of the award leads to more translations and to more children having access to high-quality literature—entertaining, innovative, challenging, or complex.

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