“According to the reviews carried out on writers’ works, the IIDCYA decided to announce the previous nominees for the award again,” the IIDCYA said in a press release.
The Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth nominated Shahabadi for the honor in 2021. In addition, the IIDCYA bookmobiles project received a nomination in 2020 for the award, the prestigious Swedish honor to promote children’s and youths’ literature in the world.
Shahabadi is also the manager of Madreseh Publications, a publisher of school textbooks.
He is the author of “A Smiling Banana”, which was selected by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) for its 2021 Collection for Young People with Disabilities.
He has also written “No One Dares to Do That”, a thriller that was also published in braille. His credits also include “Goethe Street Café”, “When Moji Was Lost” and “Vertical Cemetery”
The Institute for Research on History of Children’s Literature and the Children’s Book Council of Iran are other Iranian cultural centers allowed to select Iran’s nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Previously on Monday, the Iranian Association of Writers for Children and Youth announced writer Fereidun Amuzadeh-Khalili and book reading promoter Shahla Eftekhari as its nominees for the award in 2022.
In addition, the Children’s Book Council of Iran has selected the celebrated writer Jamshid Khanian and book reading promoter Abdolhakim Bahar as its nominees for the 2022 ALMA.
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