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.
“Emphasis on man’s everyday concerns like immigration, isolation, death and identity, as well as the problems of the elderly and adolescents, and his special attention to middle-class families are among other topics highlighted in Khanian’s stories,” the council has said.
Khanian is a researcher and a playwright. Among his credits are “A Half Day in the Interrogation Room” and “Compass”. He is also the author of several stories, including “Money” and “Where Is My Joseph”, which have been translated into English, Russian and Polish.
The council has also nominated him for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a prestigious Swedish honor to promote children’s and youths’ literature in the world.
Khanian was honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 36th Fajr International Theater Festival in 2018.
IBBY presents the Andersen award to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children’s literature.
Writer Farhad Hassanzadeh received a nomination for the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award.
The winners of the 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Award were Jacqueline Woodson from the U.S. as an author and Albertine from Switzerland as an illustrator.
Woodson has a prolific body of writing from picture books to young adult literature, all of which feature lyrical language, powerful characters and an abiding sense of hope.
Albertine creates books with multiple levels of interpretation, with drawings made with infinite precision that are lively and full of humor.
Source: Tehran Times