We are so thrilled to announce that 2005 WCYA grad René Colato Laínez has been announced as a finalist for the prestigious NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature! The shortlist is selected with one very important criterion: the writer or illustrator must have an ongoing positive impact on children’s literature either in a single publication or over a lifetime writing career.  The jury contains nine international writers and artists including WCYA’ s very own faculty member, Uma Krishnaswami.

Robert Con Davis-Undiano, executive director of World Literature Today, says “The NSK Prize celebrates the very best in children’s literature, and this year is no exception.”

The finalists for the 2019 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature are:

• Margarita Engle, Cuba/United States
• René Colato Laínez, El Salvador
• Ana Maria Machado, Brazil
• Isabel Minhós Martins, Portugal
• Hilary McKay, United Kingdom
• Yuyi Morales, Mexico/United States
• Beverley Naidoo, South Africa
• Renée Watson, United States
• Jeanette Winter, United States

Stay tuned, as the winner of the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature will be awarded October 9, 2018.

For more on René Colato Laínez you can visit his website.