Photo: Stefan Tell
Stockholm was quite warm but windy and cloudy when Argentine illustrator Isol met press and media on Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow the award week begins with Isol leading two workshops at Kulturhuset (House of Culture) with students of different ages.
Photo: Stefan Tell
Just a few days left until this year’s award week! Here are some images of posters placed all over Stockholm city. Isol arrives on Saturday, and will start her first day in Stockholm by giving interviews to the press. We´ll continuously put news and images here. For readers who might be in Stockholm next week, we especially recommend Isol’s award lecture at Kulturhuset (House of Culture) on Tuesday, May 21. Link the entire award week program here.
Petit (Petit, el monstruo, 2007) is a boy who cannot figure out why people like you and think you are nice one moment, and then the next moment scould you for doing more or less the same thing.
Numeralia (2007), an example of Isol’s collaboration with Argentinian poet Jorge Lujàn, offers a kaleidoscope of visual and intellectual possibilities arising from an apparently simple theme – presenting the numbers one to ten.
I a few weeks these two books will be published in Swedish for the first time by Alfabeta (Petit, el monstruo) and Lilla Piratförlaget (Numeralia).
Cover of Petit, the monster (Groundwood Books, 2010)
Cover of Numeralia (Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2007 )
The award week is getting closer and at the same time the process for next year’s nominations proceeds. The deadline to nominate candidates for the 2014 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is May 15. In January, the award office sent out invitations to nominating bodies around the world to propose candidates for the award.
After May 15, when the suggestions arrive from nominating bodies, the award office compiles the nomination material. The jury then begins to read, check and request additional information from the nominating bodies.
By September suggested nominations have been checked and approved and the list for 2014 will be announced at the international book fair in Frankfurt, October 9-13.
More about the nomination process here.
Annoncement of the 2013 candidates at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year.
Cover of Los Mejores libros para Niños y Jóvenes 2013. Illustration by Christina Muller from Venezuela.
Last Friday Banco del Libro, reading promoter and 2007 ALMA recipient, released the 33rd edition of best Spanish publications of children´s and young adult literature. The selection of books include 90 titels, and the purpose is not only to promote high quality books but also to highlight Latin American publishing which has increased in volume lately.
During the evaluation work a few trends have been identified in the production of children’s books. First books that invite the reader to explore the inner and psychic, books that raise questions and reflections, and addresses issues such as respect for differences, understanding and acceptance of change and the importance of emotional ties. Another trend is books with realistic subjects and information books that promote research and curiosity.
We couldn´t help but noticing that the selection includes Nocturno by Isol (Fondo de Cultura Económica: México). Nocturne is one of her most recent works, and should be read as an introduction to the night’s dreams. It´s printed in fluorescent colors so that it can be read in bed in the dark…
Interested in the list? Link to revistababar.com here.
Book After Work is a series of inspiration nights for pedagogues in Stockholm, arranged by reading promoting project Barn&Böcker (Children&Books). Yesterday it was time for the Stockholm teachers to get an introduction to Isol’s artistry by Elina Druker, member of the ALMA jury.
Elina spoke about Isol as a young, brave artistic voice and showed examples of Isol’s humour, how she captures the absurdities of the adult world and uses the picturebook medium to deal with the grand, important matters of life.
Barn&Böcker is a collaboration between the Education Department of Stockholm City Council, Stockholm City Library, Skansen, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Photo: Meredith Andrews
– Meeting the Swedish audience has been absolutely fantastic. I can´t wait to visit Stockholm in May, says the recipient of 2013 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award recipient Isol, who participated in the Swedish literary festival LitteraLund last week. The program for this year’s award week is intense.
This year’s award week begins May 20 and ends with the award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall on May 27. Isol´s looking forward to coming back to meet the Swedish readers:
– By then I hope to have books in Swedish and it will be very interesting for me to see the reaction from Swedish reader. It’s all very exiting!
The program includes, among other things, the following program:
Monday May 20
Workshop with children at Kulturhuset (House of Culture) in Stockholm. Kulturhuset invites school classes in various grades, and the large Auditorium is transformed into a large creative workshop led by Isol.
Meeting with the Swedish Academy of Children’s Books.
Tuesday May 21
Participation at the opening of the reading promotion project Barn&Böcker (Children&Books) at Skansen in Stockholm. Isol awards winning school classes in the contest “A world class book”.
Award lecture at Kulturhuset (House of Culture). Open to all, admission free.
Wednesday May 22
Presentation and lecture at the Deutsche Jugendbibliothek in München, Germany. Open to all.
Friday May 24
Participation in a seminar at the cultural centre Astrid Lindgren’s Näs in Vimmerby.
Monday May 27
Award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall. H.R. H. Crown Princess Victoria presents the award.
Here´s images from today´s acitivties at LitteraLund; a conversation with writer and ALMA jury member Mats Kempe about the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and the effects of the award.
Isol:
I’m very happy to be here in Lund, the festival gives me a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues from other countries and to discuss common issues. And of cours I’m lookging forward to coming back in May for the award week. By then I hope to have books in Swedish and it will be very interesting for me to see the reaction from Swedish readers. It’s all very exiting!
On the second day of the literary festival LitteraLund Isol took part in a discussion with illustrators Judith Drews (Germany) and Benjamin Chaud (France). Differences, similarities and preferences concerning topics and colours were discussed. One thing they all agreed on is that humour is a very effective way to deal with serious topics. But can you joke about everything in childrens’s books? Yes almost. And a tabu in one country may not be necessarry cause any scandals among readers in another. More scandalous is pehaps editors and publishes attempt to change colours or formats … Changing techniques and formats is the same thing as changing the artist’s interpretation.
From Isol’s workshop at LitteraLund today. Photo: LitteraLund
She is here. In Sweden. But not to receive the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, but to participate in the Swedish literary festival LitteraLund, April 15-20. The first days of the festival, Isol leads a workshop for fourteen active Swedish illustrators and graphic designers together with Benjamin Chaud from France and Lilian Brøgger from Denmark. The project is a co-operation between LitteraLund and the Creative Plot in Lund, and the two day workshop will end with an exhibition of the student’s works.
– It feels amazing to have the privilege of having these talented illustrators gathered in one place to work together, says Debora Voges, director of the Creative Plot. It will be incredibly exciting to see the results!
During the following week, Isol will participate in three seminars on children’s and young adult literature: with Ulla Rhedin, researcher and member of the ALMA jury, with her international colleagues Benjamin Chaud (France) and Judith Drews (Germany) and with writer and jury member Mats Kempe and ward office director Helen Sigeland. On Friday, she will lead a workshop for eight-year-olds from the county of Lund.
Link to the entire program here.
