The Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations (Japanese: 野間国際絵本原画コンクール) was organised by Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) supported by the Noma International Book Development Fund from 1978 to 2008. It was an annual competition, ending in 2008. The prize was named after Shoichi Noma, the fourth president of the Japanese family-run publishing house

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

Ltd. At the 1963 Frankfurt Book Fair, he gave a speech entitled "Cultural Exchange in Publishing", in which he said “In order to advance and sustain world peace, it is most important to develop international mutual understanding by means of cross-cultural interchange through publishing.” In this spirit, several Noma Awards were set up: the

Noma Award for Publishing in Africa The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (''French:Le Prix Noma de Publication en Afrique''), which ran from 1980 to 2009, was an annual $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who published in Africa. Within four years of its est ...

, established in 1980; the Noma Literary Prize, also established in 1980; and the Noma Award for the Translation of Japanese Literature, established in 1980 to commemorate Kodansha’s 80th anniversary. The aim of the competition was to discover up-and-coming illustrators, graphic designers and artists in Asia (except Japan), the Pacific, Africa, Arab States, and Latin America & the Caribbean, and to provide an opportunity at which they could present their works to offer incentives for their creative activities. Prizewinning works were displayed in exhibitions such as the International Library of Children's Literature in Ueno, Tokyo, and the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava in Slovakia.

The 16th Noma Concours (2008)

Grand Prize *''Nadi & Xiao Lan'' by Wen Hsu (Costa Rica) Second Prize *''The Princess'' by Fereshteh Najafi (Iran) *''An Hour that Is Neither Day nor Night'' by Alaeldin Elgizouli Naeim (Sudan) Runners Up *''Puppet of Rag and Paper'' by Vinka Grbic Segura (Chile) *''The Girl and the Jungle'' by Edi Sarwono (Indonesia) *''Yusuf and Zulaikha'' by Leila Fathizadeh (Iran) *''Boots'' by Parastou Khodaparast Haghi (Iran) *''The Spelled City'' by Parisa Arta (Iran) *''Wolves and Humans'' by Saba Maasoumian (Iran) *''Strange Interview'' by Kim Joo-Kyung (Republic of Korea) *''The Wall'' by Park Soo-Hyun (Republic of Korea) *''Pumla and the Chickens'' by Shelley Johnson (illustrator) (South Africa) *''The Princess with the Binocular'' by Ta Huy Long (Vietnam) Encouragement Prize *''Vovó'' by Claudio Martins (Brazil) *''Many Indigenous Stories about the Origin of the Universe and Other *''Things'' by Mauricio Negro (Brazil)'' *''The Great Deluge'' by Pradyumna Kumar (India) *''Zahhak'' by Alireza Joday (Iran) *''The Singer Wolf'' by Atefeh Malekijoo (Iran) *''The Princess who Liked to Eat Apples'' by Azita Arta (Iran) *''Sara, Apple Jam & River'' by Hoda Hadadi (Iran) *''I Received Your Letter Right Now'' by Maryam Mouliyai (Iran) *''The Hero's Trick'' by Narges Mohammadi (illustrator) (Iran) *''The Disloyal Friend'' by Rashin Kheyrieh (Iran) *''Sansarinaga and the Beautiful Toy Buffalo'' by Jainal Amambing (Malaysia) *''The Alebrije Origin'' by Diana Tiznado Palmieri (Mexico) *''The Shoes Story'' by Rosario Román Alonso (Mexico) *''Naku, Nakuu, Nakuuu!'' by Sergio T. Bumatay III (Philippines) *''Lost and Found'' by Cho Seoung-Hyon (Republic of Korea) *''The Baby Black Cloud'' by Ji Yee-Jung (Republic of Korea) *''My Grandpa Is a Taxi Driver Delivering Happiness'' by Kim Hyo-Jin (Republic of Korea) *''To Catch a Puhul Thief'' by Ladduwa Hettige Asanga (Sri Lanka) *''Descendants-Mahouts-Elephants: The Story of Thai Elephant Part 2'' by Pallop Wangborn (Thailand) *''Founding of Sfax'' by Raouf Karray (Tunisia)

The 15th Noma Concours (2007)

Grand Prize *''How the Firefly Got Its Light'' by Pradyumna Kumar (India) Second Prize *''The Princess Who Couldn't Laugh'' by Narges Mohammadi (illustrator) (Iran) *''The Last Day I Lived in a Long House'' by Jainal Amambing (Malaysia) Runners Up *''Tap, Tap, Tap'' by Afra Nobahar (Iran) *''The Fox'' by Amir Shaabanipour (Iran) *''Love Stories'' by Atyeh Bozorg Sohrabi (Iran) *''Lili Lili Hozak'' by Mojtaba Ossyany (Iran) *''Land Below the Wind'' by Awang Fadilah Bin Ali Hussein (Malaysia) *''My Home Is My Pet'' by Jose Miguel Tejido (Philippines) *''The Flying Birds'' by Kim Joo-Kyung (Republic of Korea) *''A Book That Nobody Has Opened'' by Oh Jung-Taek (Republic of Korea) *''Strange Dream'' by Mazin Alaeldin Elgizouli (Sudan) *''The Story of the Thai Elephant'' by Pallop Wangborn (Thailand) Encouragement Prize *''The Red Cricket'' by Ana Milena Torres Hernández (Colombia) *''Don Cat'' by Marco Javier Chamorro Aldas (Ecuador) *''Think Twice'' by Mamadú Candé (Guinea-Bissau) *''The Old Man Who Could Make Trees Flourishing with Flowers'' by Agustinus Hari Santosa (Indonesia) *''The Land of Water-lilies'' by Ali Boozari (Iran) *''The Love Journey of the Pilgrim'' by Ali Hashemi Shahraki (Iran) *''The Angel and the Moon'' by Ali Namvar (Iran) *''Queen of Ants and Her Princesses'' by Azadeh Madani (Iran) *''Mitra'' by Banafsheh Erfaniyan (Iran) *''Whose House Is This?'' by

Hassan Amekan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People * Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name * Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scott ...

(Iran) *''The Red Ladybird'' by Marjan Vafaeian (Iran) *''Our Earth, Our Heart'' by

Reza Lavasani Reza is a Persian name, originating from the Arabic word , ''Riḍā'', which literally means "the fact of being pleased or contented; contentment, approval". In religious context, this name is interpreted as ''satisfaction'' or "''perfect content ...

(Iran) *''The Trip of a Butterfly'' by Morteza Zahedi (Iran) *''Forest Dream'' by Nasrin Fallahpour (Iran) *''The Road'' by

Negin Ehtesabian Negin ( fa, نگین: ə'giːn is a Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** ...

(Iran) *''The Owl and the Jaybird'' by Nooshin Safakhoo (Iran) *''The Dancing Technique'' by Tito Muatha Mutua (Kenya) *''Animal Farm'' by Yoo Jun-Jae (Republic of Korea) *''The Vatu Bird'' by Manoranjana Herath Bandara (Sri Lanka) *''This Is God's Creation'' by Loujaina Al-Assil (Syria)

The 14th Noma Concours (2006)

Grand Prize *''My Home'' by Bolormaa Baasansuren Second Prize *''God of Thunder'' by Cen Long *''The Race'' by Salah Eldin Ibrahim Adam

The 13th Noma Concours (2002)

Grand Prize *''I Have a House'' by

Claudia Legnazzi Claudia may refer to: People Ancient Romans *Any woman from the Roman Claudia gens * Claudia (vestal), a Vestal Virgin who protected her father Appius Claudius Pulcher in 143 BC *Claudia Augusta (63–63 AD), infant daughter of Nero by his second ...

Second Prize *''The Son Who Caught the Tiger'' by Park Chul Min *''Sun Canary, Moon Canary!'' by

Piet Grobler Piet may refer to: People *Piet (given name), a common name in the Netherlands and South Africa *Henri Piet (1888–1915), French lightweight boxer *Tony Piet (1906–1981), American Major League Baseball player Schools *Purushottam Institute of ...

The 12th Noma Concours (2000)

Grand Prize *''The Girl of the Wish Garden'' by Nasrin Khosravi Second Prize *''The Wonder Sparrow'' by Jainal Amambing *''Mrs. Colour'' by Lee Hye Kyung

The 11th Noma Concours (1998)

Grand Prize *''Majed and His Friends'' by Hussein Gamaan (Sudan) Second Prize *''The Elephant in a Dark Room'' by

Feeroozeh Golmohammadi Feeroozeh Golmohammadi is an Iranian artist, miniaturist, writer and an illustrator. For three years, she worked as the chief editor of an Iranian woman's magazine, Zan-e-Rooz (Today's Woman). Biography Feeroozeh was born on June 21, 1951, in ...

(Iran) *''Thin Soldier'' by Ferdinand R. Doctolero (Philippines)

The 10th Noma Concours (1996)

Grand Prize *''The Real Elephant'' by Mohd. Yusof bin Ismail (Malaysia) Second Prize *''Here I Am!'' by

(South Africa) *''The Owner of the Light'' by Irene Savino (Venezuela)

The 9th Noma Concours (1994)

Grand Prize *''How the Creatures Chose the Colours'' by Seif Eddeen L'owta (Sudan) Second Prize *''How Shimba and His Herd Rescued the Forest'' by Lazaro Enriquez Reyes (Cuba) *''The Crescent Moon, Poems by Rabindranath Tagore'' by

(Iran)

The 8th Noma Concours (1992)

Grand Prize *''The Ugly Ducking'' by Park Sung-Woan (Republic of Korea) Second Prize *''The Strife over the Magic Snail'' by Fabricio V. Broeck (Mexico) *''The Guessing Boys'' by Munkhjin Tsultemin (Mongolia)

The 7th Noma Concours (1990)

Grand Prize *''Animals Have Many Faces'' by Enrique Martinez (Cuba) Second Prize *''Cindelaras'' by M.Salim (Indonesia) *''The Song of the Trees'' by Mahmoud Gahalla (Sudan)

The 6th Noma Concours (1988)

Grand Prize *''When Nazha Created a Tremendous Uproar in the Sea'' by Yu Dawu (China) Second Prize *''The Tortoise and the Elephant'' by Ademora Adekola (Nigeria) *''Thai Sweets'' by Krirkbura Yomnak (Thailand)

The 5th Noma Concours (1986)

Grand Prize *''The Dinosaur of the Desert'' by Kang Woo-Hyun (Republic of Korea) Second Prize *''The Amazed City'' by

Eduardo Muñoz Bachs Eduardo Muñoz Bachs (1937–2001) was a Cuban poster artist and comics artist. He was born on April 12, 1937, in Valencia, Spain, but moved to Cuba with his parents in 1941. In 1960, with no formal training in graphic design, he made the first ...

(Cuba) *''The Flower Fairy'' by Xu Lele (China)

The 4th Noma Concours (1984)

Grand Prize *''Mr. Fox'' by

Gavin Bishop Gavin John Bishop (born 1946) is an author and illustrator, from Invercargill, New Zealand. He is known for illustrating books from prominent New Zealand authors, including Joy Cowley and Margaret Mahy. Bishop's first published picture book was ...

(New Zealand) Second Prize *''Games'' by Seif Eddeen Lowta (Sudan) *''Chitku'' by Mrinal Mitra (India)

The 3rd Noma Concours (1982)

Grand Prize *''A Plane and A Viola'' by Gian Calvi (Brazil) Second Prize *''The Nine-Coloured Deer'' by Feng Jiannan (China) *''The Dream of Being Great'' by Luis Cabrera Hernandez (Cuba)

The 2nd Noma Concours (1980)

Grand Prize *''Ancient Chinese Fables'' by Zhang Shi-ming (China) Second Prize *''One Day'' by

Jagdish Joshi Jagdish Joshi (1937–2016) was an Indian children's book illustrator. Born in 1937, he studied fine arts at the Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship, Dum Dum, Kolkata, and later worked for the ''Hindustan Times'' and Children's Book Trust. ...

(India) *''Momo'' by Rui de Oliveira (Brazil)

The 1st Noma Concours (1978)

Grand Prize *''If the Animals Had Coloured Faces'' by Nikzad Nojoumi (Iran) *''The Hero of Champions'' by Ali-Akbar Sadeghi (Iran) Second Prize *''Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang'' by Tai Tun-pang (China) *''Uniforms'' by Mickey Patel (India) *''The Land of Ramol'' by

A. Ramachandran Achutan Ramachandran Nair, popularly known as A. Ramachandran, is an Indian painter, born in 1935 in Attingal, Kerala. In 2002, he was elected a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi and in 2005, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highe ...

(India) *''What Did the Bird Say?'' by Bahman Dadkha (Iran) *''Children of the Forest'' by Abdulahi Mohd Eltaieb (Sudan)

References

{{reflist Children's book illustrators Children's literary awards