Help the World Understand China, the 34th Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Awards Announced Online

This year, the organizers further improved the awarding mechanism and optimized the award categories. It invited authoritative experts, scholars and professionals to form an extensive and professional jury and introduced a new professional team to implement the submission campaign and evaluation of works; expanded the scope of call for entry to Chinese children's literature published in the areas of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the countries of Singapore and Malaysia; added the award of Emerging Author of Chinese Writing to better reflect the "gardener" spirit advocated by Mr. Chen and extensively discover and cultivate new creators and works; renamed the original two annual work awards as the Best Literary Work and the Best Picture Book to more accurately reflect their emphasis on excellent works; included contributions for the selection of Best Literary Work.

A total of 1,149 works (or pieces) were solicited for this year's CICLA. The number doubled from last year and records were made  since the founding of the CICLA in terms of social influence, individual participation, and the number of contributed works. Among the entries competing for the Best Literary Work are excellent novels, short stories, coming-of-age novels that express current realistic themes, historical novels that explore historical themes, realistic novels, fantasy novels, science fictions and even informative and entertaining prose. The entries for the Best Picture Book covers works of rich types, different forms, novel themes, diverse cultures, and a wide range of reading ages. There are multiple juxtaposed artistic presentations, and storytelling that runs through the main line; there are both purely visual creative expressions, and elaborate creations that integrate philosophical thinking into images; there are surging emotional expressions and rich and systematic knowledge communication.

After careful reading and selection by Chinese and foreign judges, 20 works finally stood out and won awards or nominations. Meanwhile, as recommended by the Solicitation and Selection Office and approved by the Organizing Committee, the jury decided on one candidate for the Special Contribution Award, one for the Outstanding Writer Award and two for the Emerging Writer of Chinese Writing.

Kate Dicamillo, a famous American writer of children's literature, won this year's CICLA Outstanding Writer for her excellent achievements in the creation of children's literature works. Cai Gao, a senior Chinese picture book painter, won this year's CICLA Special Contribution Award for her great contributions to the communication, promotion and development of Chinese and foreign children's literature. Mei Yu, a famous children's literature writer, and Sonan Cairang, a children's writer of Mongolian ethnic group, won this year's CICLA Emerging Writer of Chinese Writing.