Cărturino Awards at their second edition. A Cărturești project that celebrates Romanian children’s literature and rewards its creators.

Cărturești announces the launch of the second edition of the Cărturino Awards, an initiative aimed at recognizing the value of children’s literature, its importance in Romania’s book market, and its role in fostering young readers.

The Cărturino Awards seek to highlight the importance of children’s literature, encourage original creations, promote books with bold graphic design, and contribute to the improvement of books for young readers, as well as to educate a young audience that appreciates books as cultural objects.

After the first edition, which featured a total of 125 registered books, 20 finalist titles, 5 winners, and a gala celebrating Romanian children’s literature alongside writers, illustrators, editors, booksellers and readers, with participation in international book fairs, the Cărturino Awards return this year with a new visual identity designed by Ștefan Vasilachi, while maintaining the main categories and special ones from the previous edition.

Thus, the Cărturino Awards include two main categories:

🏆 Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year, a prize worth 2,000 euros, awarded for the book as a whole (text and illustration), which will be divided equally between the writer and the illustrator.

🏆 Children’s Literature Book of the Year, worth 1,000 euros, awarded for the text.

📚 In addition to the cash prizes, the winners of the two categories will receive books worth 200 euros, which they will donate to associations or institutions of their choice. The selection of books will be made by the winners.

The jury for the two main categories will include: Diana Geacăr (writer), Carla Duschka (graphic artist, Atelierul de grafică), Oana Purice (literary agent), Stela Lie (professor at UNARTE, illustrator), and Monica Anghel (member of the Cărturești organizing team).

In addition to the main categories, there will be two special sections, each worth 500 euros:

🥇 Booksellers’ Award, given by a group of booksellers representing various bookstores from Romania.

🥇 Children’s Award, voted by a group of children.

The booksellers’ jury will consist of: Mihai Pricopoaia (Librarium), Raluca Selejan (La două bufnițe), Irina Ornea (Humanitas), Magdalena Bagrin (Cărturești Chișinău), and Alina Muncileanu (Cărturești).

“I wish a long life to the young Cărturino, which I greet enthusiastically – I hope it will become a very good stimulant for all Romanian creators and producers of children’s books.” – Carla Duschka, jury member

“I was very happy when I found out about the Cărturino Awards because my dream had become real (plus my novel, Când erau dragonii mici, Polirom Junior, 2023, was nominated), but I also had a bit of regret, to see that someone else had fulfilled it for me.” – Diana Geacăr, interview in Suplimentul de cultură

“The Cărturino Award is a great honor for me personally and a symbol of a beautiful collaboration between Romanians on both sides of the river Prut. Although the award is the merit of the brilliant illustrator Irina Dobrescu, I went to the ceremony to emphasize how important Romania’s support is for authors and readers from Republic of Moldova. We have a language distorted by the Russians, we suffer from a huge complex, and when one of our books is highly appreciated in Romania, we feel like we can face any obstacle.” – Ionela Hadârcă, winner of Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year 2024, interview in Suplimentul de cultură

“(…) I think that this year’s edition was also like a confirmation and a friendly handshake extended to the publishing houses that dared to publish Romanian children’s literature. As you said, on a small and unstable market, investing in Romanian books (for children) can be a challenge. It seems to me that the publishers received encouragement that it is good to continue, that they are not alone in this effort. (…) Moreover, this distinction is also a recognition that can weigh considerably in the export of Romanian children’s books, especially since it is awarded by Cărturești, a brand with good visibility and prestige on the international market.” – Oana Purice, jury member, in Matca Literară

“The Cărturino Awards (…) being the first awards in Romania dedicated exclusively to children’s literature, give it weight; moreover, the existence of the competition itself led to a fundamental shift in both the physical and online bookstores of the Cărturești network, the organizer of the gala: the winning and finalist books are placed on a dedicated shelf, well positioned within the bookstore and clearly signposted, so that they are as visible as possible. It is an act of justice done to the children’s authors in Romania, who, for more than a decade, ran alone in a race where no one told them whether they had done well or not.” – Luminița Corneanu, in Observator cultural

The Carturino Awards continue Cărturești’s mission to support contemporary Romanian writers and illustrators, reflected over time in numerous projects, including the most recent ones: Cărturești’s literary creation grants and residences, now in their 4th edition, as well as the Visual Creation Residences in Viscri, initiated in 2023; Short. Festival of Short Prose, held in December each year, Book and Honey, a podcast dedicated to contemporary authors, and numerous projects and collaborations with illustrators and visual artists from Romania.

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