Anna Kouppanou is the Cyprus IBBY, Hans Christian Andersen Nominee for 2022. She is an educator, a philosopher of education, (PhD in Philosophy of Education − UCL Institute of Education, University College London), a poet, and an author of children and young adult fiction. With books such as The Incredible Discovery of Sebastian Montefiore, which was awarded the Republic of Cyprus State Award for Young Adult Literature, the 1st Prize at the  Competition for Contemporary Fairy-tale of the Cyprus Association of Books for Children and Youth (Cyprus IBBY), the Award for a Book for Children by the literary magazine “O Anagnostis” (The Reader), and was included in the honorary list of the International Board on Books for Young People  (IBBY Honor List 2018), Kouppanou’s work promotes inclusion and acceptance through the genres of fantasy and realism, while encouraging interspecies coexistence, respect for otherness – in all of its forms, and cultivating the need for social change.

Book Cover of

The Incredible Discovery of Sebastian Montefiore

Kouppanou has explored the genre of fantasy through works, such as Aria Changes Worlds (IBBY Cyprus, 2001), The Argonauts of Time (Republic of Cyprus State Award, 2010) and The Day we Broke the World – The Club of the Lost Children Vol. 1 (Shortlisted for the Republic of Cyprus State Award).

Book Cover of The Argonauts of Time

With her books, such as Grandpa, Superman and a Little Cherry, (Kedros, 2018, Women’s Literary Fellowship Commendation, 2013) and The Disappearance of K. Papadakou and what happened that summer (2018, Nominated for the Hellenic Republic State Award, Shortlisted for the Republic of Cyprus State Award, Shortlisted for Greece IBBY Award) Anna has also immersed herself into realistic fiction, dealing with important psychological and social issues and capturing contemporary depictions of childhood and adolescence.

Writing Sample:The Incredible Discovery of Sebastian Montefiore