Enter the Hans Christian Andersen Writing Contest

Hans Christian Anderson was a Danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories are “The SnowQueen,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Thumbelina,” “The Little Match Girl,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Red Shoes.” During Andersen’s lifetime he was respected by royalty and acclaimed for having brought joy to children across Europe. His fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages and continue to be published in millions of copies all over the world inspiring many other works.

Andersen was also a poet, and his verse has been set to music by such composers as Grieg, Nielsen and Schumann. Among musical adaptations are Prokofiev’s song The Ugly Duckling, Mary Rodgers’ musical Once Upon a Mattress (based on “The Princess and the Pea”), and Disney’s animated feature The Little Mermaid.