Every other year IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature.The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is the Patron of the Andersen Awards.The nominations are made by the National Sections of IBBY and the recipients are selected by a distinguished international jury of children's literature specialists.The Author's Award has been given since 1956 and the Illustrator's Award since 1966. The Award consists of a gold medal and a diploma, presented at a festive ceremony during the biennial IBBY Congress. A special Andersen Awards issue of IBBY's journal Bookbird presents all the nominees, and documents the selection process.The Andersen Awards programme was supported by Nissan Motor Co. until 2008. From 2009 Nami Island Inc. has generously begun its long-time sponsorship of the Andersen Awards.A publication about the Hans Christian Andersen Awards was prepared for the 2002 IBBY Jubilee Congress. It includes biographies and a selected bibliography of all the winners from 1956 to 2002, as well as the history of the Award. Anderson Prize