Golden Picture Book Awards launched with NT$3.27 million prize pool

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) The Ministry of Culture on Wednesday announced the establishment of a new national-level illustration award, the "Golden Picture Book Awards", which includes six major categories and a total prize pool of NT$3.27 million (US$111,580).

Applications for the award will run from July 1 to Sept. 1, the ministry said in a statement.

The award will feature six major categories--special contribution award, new illustrator award, picture book editing award, cross-disciplinary application award, annual picture book award, and golden grand prize (awarded to one work of fiction and one of non-fiction), the ministry said.

Winners of the new illustrator award, annual picture book award and golden grand prize will also be eligible to apply for an additional NT$600,000 grant from the ministry to fund their next book project, the ministry added.

The new award aims to support the development of original picture books in Taiwan and encourage excellence in picture book creation. It joins the ranks of the ministry's existing national-level awards -- the Golden Tripod Awards, Golden Comic Awards and Golden Melody Awards, according to the statement.

Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) shared his experience creating picture books with his children, eventually publishing 15 titles under the pseudonym Hsiao Yeh (小野).

Li emphasized that the combination of text and illustration in picture books makes them highly suitable for translation and cultural export, enabling the world to learn about Taiwanese creativity. As a result, promoting picture books has become one of his key policy priorities since taking office, he added.