Hans Christian Andersen winners

Michael Rosen of the United Kingdom and Cai Gao of China won the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Awards, the top international prize for children’s authors and illustrators. (ibby.org) The International Board on Books for Young People announced the winners on April 13 at its annual press conference during the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy. The award is given every other year for a creator’s full body of work, not for a single book. (ibby.org) This year’s field included 78 nominees from 44 countries, and the final shortlist had six authors and six illustrators. The medals and diplomas are scheduled to be presented at the International Board on Books for Young People World Congress in Ottawa, Canada, from August 6 to 9, 2026. (ibby.org; internationalpublishers.org) The award has long been treated as children’s literature’s closest equivalent to a lifetime international honor. The International Board on Books for Young People says it recognizes a living author and a living illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children’s literature. (ibby.org; publishersweekly.com) For Rosen, the prize caps a career that the United Kingdom section of the organization says has lasted 50 years and produced more than 200 books for children. The 2026 jury cited his “honesty, humour, intelligence, and respect” for young readers across poetry, novels, and nonfiction. (ibby.org.uk; ibby.org) Rosen is one of Britain’s best-known children’s writers, with books including *We’re Going on a Bear Hunt* and *Michael Rosen’s Sad Book*. His nomination dossier says he served as the fifth United Kingdom Children’s Laureate from 2007 to 2009 and has built a large audience through school visits, performances, and online video. (publishersweekly.com; ibby.org.uk) For Cai, the award marks a first in the illustration category for China. The jury said her work combines technical mastery, creativity, sensitivity, and innovation, and praised a visual language that moves between tradition and modernity. (bjreview.com; ibby.org) The International Board on Books for Young People’s winner page says Cai was born in 1946 in Changsha and grew up with nursery rhymes and storytelling that shaped her later work. Her dossier says her picture books draw on classical Chinese culture while staying accessible to young readers. (ibby.org; ibby.org) The 2026 shortlist also included Pam Muñoz Ryan of the United States, Timothée de Fombelle of France, Lee Geum-yi of the Republic of Korea, Ahmad Akbarpour of Iran, María José Ferrada of Chile, and illustrators from Italy, Finland, Latvia, Egypt, and Argentina. The winners were announced on the opening day of the 62nd Bologna Children’s Book Fair. (ibby.org; publishersweekly.com) The result gives this year’s fair two winners with careers measured in decades, not seasons. In Bologna on April 13, the judges chose one writer known for speaking directly to children and one illustrator known for carrying folk tradition into picture books. (ibby.org; ibby.org)