Javier Sáez Castán has been awarded the National Illustration Prize of 2016 “for his creativity and narrative talent which infuse books as material objects.

Javier Sáez Castán has been awarded the National Illustration Prize of 2016 “for his creativity and narrative talent which infuse books as material objects; for his ability to imagine worlds and to imbue them with life; for the quality of his works, many of which have become great contemporary classics on an international scale; and for his generosity as a teacher.The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports grants this prize with the objective of acknowledging and distinguishing the whole body of work by this Spanish illustrator in the context of Spanish books and letters. The monetary component of this prize is 20,000 Euros.

Biography

Castán (b. Huesca, 1964)  is an illustrator and writer specializing in children’s books. He studied Fine Arts, with a concentration in Drawing, at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Subsequently, he became established as an illustrator in the province of Alicante. He began his career in the field of advertising, working as an illustrator for the University and Municipal Council of Alicante, and for other institutions and ad agencies.

His works have received numerous prizes and distinctions, notable among which are Best Illustrated Book at the International Children’s and Young Adult Book Fair of Mexico in 2004; Best Book of the Year from the Book Bank of Venezuela in 2005 for his work Animalario universal del profesor Revillod (The Universal Animal House of Professor Revillod); the 2007 Publishing Art Prize from the National Chamber of the Mexican Publishing Industry in the youth category for Objetos ¿conocidos? (Objects: Known?); and the prize at the literary contest Inventions granted by Ediciones Nostra in 2009 for La venganza de Edison (Edison’s Revenge). He has also participated in multiple important exhibitions, seminars, encounters, salons, and festivals in the literary and illustration field, both at the national and international level, as well as in courses and workshops aimed at both professionals and children and young readers.

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