Woutertje Pieterse Prijs | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Award for best children's book |
Country | Netherlands |
Reward(s) | €15,000[1] |
First awarded | 1988[2] |
The Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋʌutərtɕə ˈpitərse ˈprɛis]; Dutch for Woutertje Pieterse Prize) is an annual Dutch literary award for the best children's book of the preceding year.[1]
The award was first given in 1988.[2] The winner of the prize receives €15,000, the highest amount among Dutch literary awards for children's literature.[1][2][3][update] The award is awarded annually in March or April.[3]
The award is named after the character Woutertje Pieterse in Ideeën written by Multatuli.[3] The award's name refers to the character's curiosity and tendency to go against society's morals.[3][4] Similarly, the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs is awarded to books that differ from children's literature with a didactic or moralistic nature.[4]
Some authors have received the award multiple times, including Toon Tellegen (1992, 1994),[5][6] Joke van Leeuwen (1997, 1999),[7][8] and Paul Biegel (1991, 2000).[9][10] In 2018, Annet Schaap with her book Lampje was the first author to receive this award with a debut novel.[1] Jaap Lamberton is the only person to have received the award posthumously (in 1993).[11][update]
The prize money has been provided by various organisations over the years, including the Lirafonds and Bruna.[2] The award was sponsored by Lirafonds until 2014 and by Bruna in 2015, 2016 and 2017.[2] The 2018 edition of the award was sponsored using one-off funding. The 2019 and 2020 editions of the award are sponsored by the Brook Foundation and Stichting De Versterking.[2]