Elena Odriozola candidate for the children´s literature Andersen Awards

San Sebastian born illustrator Elena Odriozola has been nominated for the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Awards by the Spanish Organization for Children and Young People’s Literature (OEPLI, in its Spanish initials). This is the second time Odriozola has been selected for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, given every two years by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People). The nomination was supported by the Basque association for children and young people’s literature, Galtzagorri Elkartea, and the Etxepare Basque Institute.

San Sebastian born illustrator Elena Odriozola has been nominated for the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Awards by the Spanish Organization for Children and Young People’s Literature (OEPLI, in its Spanish initials). This is the second time Odriozola has been selected for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, given every two years by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People). The nomination was supported by the Basque association for children and young people’s literature, Galtzagorri Elkartea, and the Etxepare Basque Institute.

Spain presents two candidates for these awards, one illustrator and one author. Candidates are selected by an OEPLI partner organization, each representing one of the four official languages. Galtzagorri is responsible for the Basque candidate. Only two nominees are submitted from Spain for the Andersen Awards. As in 2018, Odriozola was chosen from among the illustrators with support of the Etxepare Institute. The nominee for writer is Catalan author Jordi Sierra i Fabra, thanks to support from the Ramón Llull Institute.

Along with OEPLI, the Spanish section of IBBY, several other organizations will present their candidacies to these prestigious awards. A jury made up of international experts will choose the winners of the Andersen Awards, which will later be announced at the 2020 Bologna Book Fair and awarded at the IBBY congress.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award, supported by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children´s books. The award was set up to recognize and reward authors and illustrators whose work has made a lasting contribution to children´s literature. The Hans Christian Andersen Award has been presented every two years since 1956.

Elena Odriozola (San Sebastian, 1967) has illustrated more than 100 books, beginning in 1995 with Agure Jakagorria by Jesus Mari Olaizola, "Txiliku". She has garnered numerous awards, including Spain’s National Illustration Award in 2015, a Golden Apple Award at the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava for her work in Frankenstein, and the Euskadi Prize for best illustration on two occasions, in 2009 for Aplastamiento de las gotas in 2013 for Tropecista.