The nominees are the celebrated writer Jamshid Khanian, book reading promoter Abdolhakim Bahar and illustrator Farshid Shafiei.

Khanian was nominated for his influential role in the formation of adolescent fiction stories, and his focus on peace, friendship, love and respect in his stories. 

Shafiei was selected for his illustrations bearing Persian spirits, while making a new movement in illustration of children’s books. 

Bahar was selected for his cultural activities promoting reading in the deprived regions and rural areas of the country.

Iran’s nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is presented by the Swedish government to promote children’s and youths’ literature in the world, are selected separately every year by Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA), the Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth, and the Children’s Book Council of Iran.

The IIDCYA has announced writer Hamidreza Shahabadi and its mobile library program, which program promotes reading in remote regions and villages across Iran, as its nominees for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

The Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth selected writer Hamidreza Shahabadi, book reading promoter Abdolhakim Bahar and Afghan book reading promoter Nader Musavi.

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 writer Astrid Lindgren and to promote children’s and youths’ literature from around the world.

Source:Tehran Times