The 2028 Hans Christian Andersen Award jury has been announced. Canadian Josiane Polidori is one of the 10 jurors selected by the IBBY Executive Committee.
Josiane was Head Librarian of Children's Literature at Library and Archives Canada from 2004 to 2017. During her tenure, she edited the annual selection Read Up On It / Lisez sur le sujet, organized several book exhibitions, served as Programme Chair for the Fun of Reading symposium, and coordinated the French content for the nationwide TD Summer Reading Club. From 1989 to 2004, she managed the Governor General's Literary Awards and the Canada-Japan and Canada-Australia Literary Awards at the Canada Council for the Arts. She began her career in publishing at Libre Expression and in advertising for the Calgary Olympic Coin Programme at the Royal Canadian Mint. She holds a BA (Honours) in French literature from McGill University and studied at the Sorbonne. Since 2020, she has been Second Vice-President of IBBY Canada and co-chaired the Scientific Committee for the 2026 IBBY World Congress.
Josiane joins fellow jurors: Dr. Nadia El Kholy (Egypt); Giorgia Grilli (Italy); Le Thu Phuong Quynh (Vietnam); Dr. Shailaja Menon (India); Mare Müürsepp (Estonia); Sara Reis da Silva (Portugal); Margaret Anne Suggs (Ireland); Ana Elsa (Anel) Martínez Pérez (Mexico); and Jochen Weber (Germany). The jury will work under the guidance of Jury President Shereeh Kreidieh (Lebanon), with IBBY Executive Director Carolina Ballester serving as an ex officio jury member.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international distinction in the field of books for young people. Awarded biennially by IBBY—the International Board on Books for Young People—the Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are given to a writer and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s and youth literature.
The nominees for the 2028 Hans Christian Andersen Award will be announced on April 5, 2027 at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, with the winners being announced at the fair in 2028.
Canadian author-illustrator Sydney Smith took home the honour for Illustration in 2024, making him the first Canadian to win.
For more information, visit ibby.org.