Every two years, the organization “International Board on Books for Young People” awards the Hans Christian Andersen Prize, which, along with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, is the world’s highest award for children’s and young adult literature. The Russian illustrator Anastassija Archipowa chaired the international jury for the selection of the 2024 prizewinners. But this task will now have to be taken on by someone else. On Tuesday evening, the IBBY announced that Archipowa had submitted her resignation and the Executive Committee had accepted it.
Her appointment recently caused trouble, which finally escalated a week ago: Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II withdrew as patron of the award, which is named after her compatriot Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875).
The accusation: A Russian jury president is discrediting the prize simply because of her nationality. The chair of the Swedish arm of IBBY said on Danish radio, it is difficult for Russian citizens to be publicly active internationally without the consent of the Russian government. In addition, the accusation was made that Archipowa was a member of a Moscow artists’ association called MOCX. In the fall of 2022, they held a competition called “Agitfront,” calling for people to design propaganda materials for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The resignation is done out of consideration for the organization and its reputation in the world
When asked by Danish Radio, Anastasiya Arkhipova emphasized that she was not part of the association and knew nothing about the competition. Nevertheless, Archipowa is “aware of the perception of the world outside,” as an IBBY statement said. Out of consideration for the importance of the organization’s work and its reputation in the world, she has decided to resign.
The illustrator Archipowa was elected chair of the international award jury at a congress of the organization in Malaysia in September 2022. With a view to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, several national IBBY departments had recently called for their resignation, including those in Ukraine, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States. Liz Page, head of the IBBY, will now be in charge of the jury work for the 2024 prize year as interim chairwoman.