The Serpa International Award for Picturebooks is an initiative by the Serpa Town Council in partnership with the publisher Planeta Tangerina. This biennial award aims to develop the literary and artistic quality of the picturebook as a medium, while encouraging the creation of new projects in this area.
All projects submitted to the competition must be original and unpublished. We value projects which, due to their creativity and technical execution, can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
The jury consists of one representative of Serpa Town Council, one representative of the publisher Planeta Tangerina, and one guest judge coming from the national or international illustration scene.
A graduate of the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts and two-time Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship holder, he designs and writes books for children.He doesn't hide the fact that his books aim to educate through well-designed entertainment.
He has received numerous prestigious awards and accolades, amongst them: BolognaRagazzi Award 2024 Special Mention, the Polish Society of Book Publishers' Most Beautiful Book for Children and Young People 2017, and the Dapeng Nature Children's Book Award 2022 (China). He has also been nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and the Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres award 2018 (Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research).
He has run numerous workshops inspired by his books, both locally and internationally.
He is a big fan of side projects (including murals, sculptures, wooden toys), which allow him to try his hand at something new.
Photo: Dorota Proba
Bernardo was born in 1973 in Lisbon, where he later studied Communication Design at the College of Fine Arts.
In 1999, he co-founded Planeta Tangerina — an independent publisher, mainly dedicated to picture books — having worked there ever since. Illustration and design are his focus, often for books for children and adolescents.
He has received numerous awards for his books and illustrations, starting with “Pê de Pai”, which received an Honourable Mention by the Best Book Design From All Over the World, in 2008.
Other accolades include: Bologna Ragazzi Awards; Gustav Heinemann Peace Prize; Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis; CJ Picture Book Festival prize; Portuguese National Illustration award; Banco del Libro prize. He has also been nominated for the IBBY Honor List.
Bernardo's books have been published in over 25 countries.
Paula graduated in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Lisbon, in 1994. From 1990 to 1993, Paula worked in the Technical Support Office in Beja. Since 1994, she has worked at the Serpa Town Council, where she has worked on projects such as the architectural conception of the Biblioteca Municipal Abade Correia da Serra.
Currently, she works within the Municipality's Culture and Heritage Division, where she monitors and promotes artistic and cultural initiatives, including the artistic expression workshops "Mãos na Massa", at the Serpa Library.
