Press Release March 10, 2010 For immediate release
Contact: Agnes Lidbeck + 46 (0)765 40 10 17
167 Candidates from 61 Countries Nominated for the World’s Largest Children’s Literature Award
167 candidates from 61 countries worldwide are nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award of 5 million SEK, approximately 480 000 Euro. The winner will be announced on Wednesday March 24 at 13.00 CET.
Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and those active in reading promotion may be rewarded. The award is designed to promote interest in children's and young adult literature, and in children's rights, globally. The award was instituted in 2002 and is given in honour of Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish author who created children’s classics such as Pippi Longstocking and The Brothers Lionheart. The candidates have been nominated by expert organisations and institutions from all over the world.
The winner or winners will be announced on March 24 at 13.00 by the jury chairman, Mr Larry Lempert. The announcement will be made from Astrid Lindgren’s childhood town Vimmerby, in Sweden and broadcasted live to the Illustrators Café at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and online at www.alma.se. The web-broadcast will begin at 12.55 CET.
Photos and video from the announcement will be made available at the award website on March 24. For broadcast quality footage and interviews, contact: [email protected] or call +46 (0)76-540 10 17.
The previous recipients of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award are: Tamer Institute for Community Education (Palestinian Territories, 2009), Sonya Hartnett (Australia, 2008) Banco del Libro (Venezuela, 2007) Katherine Paterson (USA, 2006), Ryôji Arai (Japan 2005), Philip Pullman (Great Britain, 2005), Lygia Bojunga (Brazil, 2004), Christine Nöstlinger (Austria, 2003) and Maurice Sendak (USA, 2003).
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world's largest prize for children's and young adult literature. The award, which amounts to SEK 5 million, is awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and those active in reading promotion may be rewarded. The award is designed to promote interest in children's and young adult literature, and in children's rights, globally. An expert jury selects the winners from candidates nominated by institutions and organisations worldwide. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is administered by the Swedish Arts Council.