Nova Scotia illustrator Sydney Smith has won the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration, making him the first ever Canadian winner.

The biannual award, presented by the International Board of Books for Young People (IBBY) is the highest international recognition for authors and illustrators of children's books.

Out of 12 shortlisted creators, two winners are chosen — one author and one illustrator — to celebrate lifelong achievement in their respective fields. The winners receive a gold medal bearing Hans Christian Andersen's portrait and a diploma.

Austrian Heinz Janisch won the 2024 award for authors.

Smith has brought numerous children's stories to life with his artwork. He won the 2015 Governor General's Literary Award for children's literature — illustrated books, as well as the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year for his wordless picture book Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson.

His book Town Is by the Sea, written by Joanne Schwartz, is the story of a day in the life of a young maritime boy and the things he sees in his seaside coal-mining town. Their collaboration won the $50,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award — Canada's richest prize for children's books.

Smith has also authored his own books, including Small in the City, which won the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, and Do You Remember?

He was nominated for for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2022 as well.

The winners were chosen by a 10-member jury from a list of 59 nominations from 33 countries. The jury is chaired by Liz Page, the former IBBY executive director.

"The saying 'less is more' can also be applied to every one of his works as he strips away the superfluous to express emotions," said the jury in a press statement. "Smith is a truly universal artist."

2022's winners were French author Marie-Aude Murail and South Korean illustrator Suzy Lee.