The Estonian Children’s Literature Center invites readers aged 5 to 13 to choose their favorite writer and illustrator in the Nukitsa competition. According to Triin Soone and Helena Kostenok, representatives of the Children’s Literature Center, the current state of Estonian children’s literature is very good.
The Nukitsa competition is a reader survey of the Estonian Children’s Literature Centre, which takes place every two years and is the 17th time. The aim of the company is to promote children’s books, popularize reading and recognize authors and publishers of children’s books.
“The Nukitsa prize is definitely one of the most anticipated, and I would say a really nice prize for Estonian children’s writers and book illustrators. Generally, if the prize is awarded by jury members who have reached adulthood, what What makes this award special is that children will be able to choose for themselves who will be the winner,” said Helena Kostenok.
The Nukitsa Prize competition has been organized every two years by the Estonian Center for Children’s Literature since 1992.
“When I look back on history, the state of children’s literature at that time was a rather sad and gloomy sight. It’s good that ten children’s books saw the light,” Kostenok said. According to Kostenok, the Nukitsa competition was invented to encourage writers and popularize original children’s literature.
Previous winners include writers Ilmar Tomusk, Andrus Kivirähk, Janno Põldma, Kristiina Kass, and artists Heiki Ernits, Hillar Mets, Edgar Valter and others.
According to Kostenok, the current state of children’s literature is very good. “A lot of children’s literature is published, the selection is rich, it is intended for different ages, different topics,” she noted. Approximately 182 original children’s books were published in one year.
Children can vote for authors who published an original children’s book in 2022 and 2023. Since the number of works published in two years is large, a previously shortlisted list in which one hundred books were selected is useful for readers.
“The health of our children’s literature continues to be very good, because in the last two years numerous domestic children’s books have been published, professionally produced, suitable for different ages. We hope that children will find their favorites in this selection , who to vote for,” said Triin Soone, director of the children’s literature center.
Kostenok is sure that children still read books. “I don’t like to say that everything is doomed to fail and that children don’t read. Everything is fine as long as there is such a wide choice of children’s literature,” he confirmed.
The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony, which will take place on 6 April 2024 at the Children’s Literature Centre. The writer and illustrator with the most votes will receive a bronze statue of Nukitsa and a cash prize.
You can vote from January 8 to February 29, 2024 in libraries across Estonia and on the Children’s Literature Center website.
2024-01-11 09:59:00
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