BolognaRagazzi Awards celebrate the best children’s books from around the world
The winners of the BolognaRagazzi Award, which celebrates the best children’s and young adult publishing from around the world, have been announced by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. There are six categories this year: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Opera Prima (for first-time authors and illustrators), Comics, Photography and New Horizons (for innovative publishing products).
The winners are:
Fiction: Todo lo que pasó antes de que llegaras (Everything That Happened Before You Arrived) by Yael Frankel, published by Limonero in Argentina.
Non-Fiction: The Art of Protest (Big Picture Press, Bonnier Books UK) which has illustrations from young artists from around the world.
Opera Prima (for debut authors and illustrators): Mariedl. Une histoire gigantesque (Mariedl. A Gigantic Story) by Laura Simonati published by Versant Sud in Belgium.
New Horizons: El bolso (The Purse) by María José Ferrada with illustrations from Ana Palmero Cáceres, published by Alboroto Ediciones in Mexico.
Comics: Early Reader category, Whose Sock? by Sun Jun, from Hsin Yi Publications in China. Middle Grade category, Un matin (One Morning) by Jérôme Dubois with illustrations from Laurie Agusti, published by La Partie in France. Young Adult category, Planetarium Ghost Travel, The Art of Sakana Sakatsuki by Sakana Sakatsuki, published by PIE International in Japan.
Photography: Seen and Unseen (Chronicle Books) by Elizabeth Partridge with illustrations from Lauren Tamaki.
The BolognaRagazzi awards have been running since 1966. It takes its name from the Italian word ‘ragazzi’, roughly meaning ‘a youthful gang’. This year a total of 2349 titles were submitted by 644 publishers from 59 countries and regions around the world. The organisers say: “The figures for the 2023 BolognaRagazzi Award confirm an increase in the number of entries again this year, with books from Bangladesh, Cyprus, Macedonia, Malaysia, Puerto Rico and Venezuela arriving on the juries’ tables for the first time.”
