The winners announced in the first Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest: Chinese author takes gold!

The Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest is the first international competition for children's picture storybooks. In a recent awards ceremony held online， Chinese author Dai Yun was awarded the gold prize.

The Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest is jointly organized by Thinkingdom Media Group Ltd.， the U.S.'s Astra Publishing House， and Minedition， a leading European publisher of children's books. The competition was open to submissions from October 29， 2020， to April 30， 2021， and the organizers received a total of 1，688 valid entries from 68 countries on six continents， including China， the United States， the United Kingdom， Germany， France， Russia， Australia， New Zealand， Brazil， Argentina， and South Africa. The entries were judged for six months， after which 24 Gold， Silver， and Finalist Prize winners were finally announced. Chinese author Dai Yun's Sherjahaan won the Gold Prize with prize money of US$10，000.

Based on a true story， Sherjahaan tells of an Indian couple who transformed a wilderness that was once a tiger's habitat into a wildlife paradise all by themselves. The jury of the competition said this about the work： \"The powerful mythic voice of this vivid narrative describes a once beautiful region of India where tigers roamed free and shows how over-farming upended the ecological balance. Amazingly， the work of two knowledgeable， dedicated individuals was enough to reverse the damage and bring tigers and other wildlife back. A happy ending that is sure to energize and inspire young environmentalists across the world.\"

Dai Yun said she was writing a picture storybook in English for the first time， and was delighted to be recognized by experts from different languages and cultures： \"When a jury made up of English， Chinese， French， German， and Spanish speakers agreed to give this honor to a story based on something that happened in India， it really showed that， as human beings， we do share some common feelings. This sense of togetherness is beautiful.\" She was very excited to share the story with readers all around the world and looked forward to hearing the story being read in other languages.

According to contest organizer Li Xin， the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest is open to submissions worldwide， for picture books written for children ages 3-- 8 in five languages： Chinese， English， German， French， and Spanish. The jury was composed of seven renowned figures in children's publishing， from different countries and languages with different professional backgrounds. It was chaired by Leonard S. Marcus， a renowned expert in children's literature research. The Chinese member of the jury was Cao Wenxuan， winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Judging was done blind， with unpublished novice authors given the same careful considerations as established and experienced writers. The winning works will be published in several languages by the contest organizers. The youngest contest participant is 21 years old， and the oldest is 90 years old. They work in a variety of professions like teachers， librarians， doctors， accountants， actors， designers， engineers， and gardeners. The final 24 winners came from seven countries. Leonard S. Marcus， chairman of the jury， said， \"Judging by our winning stories， I have no doubt that picture-book writing is today a lively， worldwide going concern. Writers everywhere seem to understand that young children need good stories… to nourish their minds， hearts， and imaginations.\"

The Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest is reported to be cooperating with the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition， organized by China Shanghai International Children's Book Fair. There will be a new \"Golden Pinwheel Astra Award\" starting from 2021， and one of the 50 past finalists of the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition will be chosen as the award winner. The first winner announced on November 22 is Yuliya Gwilym from Ukraine， who will receive not only a prize of US$5，000 but also a publishing contract as an illustrator for her winning work in the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest. Ms. Chai Chengwei， General Manager of Shanghai Rongbo Exhibition Co.， Ltd.， and organizer of Shanghai International Children's Book Fair， said， \"The creation of the Golden Pinwheel Astra Award takes advantage of the favorable conditions offered by children's book publishing， and creates beneficial synergies between both programs. The cooperation between the two competitions also sets a good example for the publishing industry. It will help unearth more outstanding children's book authors and illustrators， further stimulate the publishing of picture books， and improve their quality. It will also promote the reading of such books and have a positive and far-reaching impact on emerging picture book authors and illustrators.\"