Author Lee Geum-yi has been shortlisted for this year's Hans Christian Andersen Award, which is dubbed the Nobel Prize of children's literature. (Lee Geum-yi's official website)

By Margareth Theresia

Author Lee Geum-yi is the first Korean to get shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world's leading honor for children's literature.

The Korean Board on Books for Young People on Jan. 19 said the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) selected Lee as one of the finalists for this year's award.

Launched in 1956 and named after the 19th-century Danish author, this prize is considered the world's most prestigious for children's literature. The biennial award goes to one author and one illustrator who contribute to the development of children's literature.

Six writers are shortlisted in the honor's author category along with Lee: Marina Colasanti from Brazil, Heinz Janisch from Austria, Bart Moeyaert from Belgium, Timo Parvela from Finland and Edward van de Vendel from the Netherlands.

Beginning her writing career in 1984 with her first short story "Younggu and Heukgu," which won the Saebeot Literature Award that year, Lee was nominated for the Andersen prize in 2020.

The two winners will be announced on April 8 at the news conference for the Bologna Children's Book Fair, the world's biggest trade show of its kind, in Italy. The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held at the IBBY Congress, which runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 in Trieste, Italy.

margareth@korea.kr