Celebrating the Joy of Reading The Children’s Literature Awards 2024 is a tribute to the young creative minds who have dedicated their talents to crafting unforgettable stories for children. While a handful of awards acknowledge outstanding work in children's literature, the majority tend to favor English publications, leaving limited recognition for works in Indian languages. The Children’s Literature Awards established by Room to Read with support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aims to honor the authors, illustrators, and creators who ignite the spark of imagination and bring alive the magic of Indian children's literature across languages and cultural diversities that bring immense joy to young readers. This award is constituted to honour the work of children’s books creators in Indian languages. This award especially acknowledges the young talent writing and illustrating for children, making the ecosystem more sustainable, and the publishers who are enabling them and keeping Indian languages alive by producing quality children's literature.✨Room to Read announces the Children’s Literature Awards 2024✨
Award CategoriesI. Room to Read Children's Book Creators' Award
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For ages 3-8 and 8-12
For ages 3-8 and 8-12
For ages 3-8 and 8-12
This award has been instituted to celebrate the stories that have been spreading the joy of reading among children. The award aims to celebrate the children’s literature in Indian languages as well as acknowledge the role teachers and librarians play in opening the world of stories for children, especially in their mother tongues. It is also a step forward towards addressing the lacunae in quality children’s books in regional and tribal languages. This year, in a first of its kind initiative, along with Hindi we are also introducing Teacher/Librarian’s Choice Award in Telugu. The Teacher/Librarian’s Choice will be given in two languages Hindi and Telugu in the 3-8 and 8-12 age categories.II. Room to Read Teacher/Librarian's Choice Award
Nominations Closed 
Voting Open Now
*The voting link is exclusively available to Teachers and Librarians.
Voting for the award is open until August 31, 2024.
Nominations closed Voting for the award is open until August 31, 2024. Submission guidelines: Telugu and English. If you are a Publisher interested to nominate, reach out to us at [email protected] with your nominations by 15th June 2024 
Process for Teacher/Librarian's Choice Award
Children's Literature, as an independent literary genre, first emerged in the west. It has found its place in India's vibrant literary landscape only a few decades ago. While it's a genre on the rise, it remains an area that is often overlooked in a country with such linguistic diversity. Astonishingly, there are only around 2,700 dedicated children's book publishers in the country. However, we are witnessing earnest efforts sprouting across the nation to create authentic and contextually rich literature that captures the hearts and imaginations of our children. Such efforts in the field of Indian Children’s Literature will help in acknowledging it as separate and distinctive from other literary works for adults. As these children’s literature stories find their way to the children through libraries, learning centers, personal collections, it helps them in becoming independent and imaginative readers. In this emerging domain, writers, illustrators, and publishers are embracing the challenge of blending tradition with contemporary themes, all while celebrating the kaleidoscope of Indian diversity through captivating content, captivating visuals, and innovative production. The Children's Literature Awards highlight the works of individuals who celebrate children’s lived experiences and the joy of reading everyday. Why did we establish the Room to Read Children's Literature Awards?
Children's Book Creators' Award 2023 Winners
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Nomination deadline for Teacher/ Librarian’s Choice Award: Hindi
The nomination deadline for this award would be 15th April 2024.
Nomination deadline for Teacher/ Librarian’s Choice Award: Telugu
The nomination deadline for this award would be 15th June, 2024.
Nomination deadline for Children’s Book Creator’s Award for Young Author and Young Illustrator
The nomination deadline for this award would be 31st July 2024. It means your entries and 5 copies of the nominated book should reach the Room to Read India Trust office latest by 31st July 2024.
Submission Guidelines for Room to Read’s Teacher/ Librarian’s Choice Award- English/Hindi
Submission Guidelines for Room to Read’s Teacher/ Librarian’s Choice Award- English/Telugu
Submission Guidelines for Room to Read’s Children’s Book Creators' Award in Young Author and Young Illustrator - English/Hindi
Your submissions are to be sent to the following address:
Room to Read India Trust (QRM Department)
C21 Qutab Institutional Area, Block C
New Delhi - 110016
Landmark: Kishangarh Police Station
Telephone: +91-11-46664999
4. After I submit my nomination form and send books as an entry, how long will it be before I hear back from you?
You will receive an auto-acknowledgment for your nomination after you submit the entry via google form. For further updates and announcements, keep a watch on our social media channels. Tentative timeline for the announcement of shortlist for:
Category 1- Children’s Book Creators' Award in Young Author and Young Illustrator: September 2024
Category 2-Teacher/ Librarian’s Choice Award Hindi: May 2024
Teacher/ Librarian’s Choice Award Telugu: June 2024
Voting for Teacher/Librarian’s Choice Award (Hindi) will be open from May 1 until July 31, 2024.
Voting for Teacher/Librarian’s Choice Award (Telugu) will be open from 1 June - 31 July, 2024.
Winning the Room to Read Children’s Literature Awards in any category comes with the following benefits:
- Possible opportunity for future collaboration with Room to Read: Awarded Authors and Illustrators are offered commissioned projects with Room to Read. The awarded Publishers are reached out from time to time to contribute to state-wide library collections.
- Trophy and Certificates: The finalised nominations receive trophies and certificates at the Room to Read Award Felicitation Ceremony which is also an opportunity for connecting and networking with other Children’s Literature Authors, Illustrators, Publishers, Practitioners and Academicians.
- Ideal Book Collection (IBC): The finalised selections of Children’s Literature automatically give it an entry into Ideal Book Collection (IBC) that is curated by Room to Read periodically. The books from IBC are sent to government school libraries.
- Recognition for your work: Your nomination will benefit from Room to Read's wide-reaching network of Libraries, NGOs, Publishers, Government Institutes and help raise visibility of your works.
Children’s Book Creators' Award:
This year ONLY the books originally written and published in the Hindi language are invited for nomination under this category.
Teacher/librarian’s Choice Award:
Hindi:
For this category, nominations can only be made for Hindi language books either originally published in Hindi or translated/adapted from an original Indian language book.
Telugu:
For this category, nominations can only be made for Telugu language books either originally published in Telugu or translated/adapted from an original Indian language book.
Absolutely yes, if your book has been originally written in Hindi and published with a registered Indian publisher.
Any individual or publisher can send a maximum of 5 nominations in each category.
Children’s Book Creators' Award:
Yes, if you are an Indian publisher publishing children’s picture books in Hindi language or an individual—author, illustrator, book critic, or a children’s books enthusiast, you may send in your nominations under this category.
Teacher/librarian’s Choice Award:
Only publishers are allowed to submit nominations of their best-selling books in this category.
If you are selected for any award, then we would like your presence for the award ceremony. In case, you are unable to attend the ceremony due to unavoidable circumstances, we shall deliver your award at the address mentioned in your nomination form.
You can write to us at [email protected]