Save the date!

Announcement of last year’s laureate Isol at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Photo: Stefan Tell

Do not miss this spring’s key dates for the ALMA.

March 25

Announcement of the 2014 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award laureate(s) at the National Library of Sweden at 1:00 pm CET. The announcement is broadcast live on www.alma.se/en and streamed live to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Italy.

March 27

A presentation of the laureate at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books in Stockholm. Open to the public. Admission free but limited seating.

April 4

Presentation of the laureate(s) in Umeå in a conference on children’s culture arranged by the Swedish Arts Council – Choosing the right is large, to choose freely is bigger?

May 26 – June 2

The award week begins on May 26 and includes a visit to Vimmerby, Astrid Lindgren’s birthplace. The laureate(s) participate in a program and meet the Swedish public, press and media. The award week ends with the award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall on June 2.

Debutant receives the 2014 Peter Pan Prize

British author Ali Lewis has been announced as recipient of this year’s Peter Pan Prize for her book Världens ände (Opal Publishing House, original title Everybody Jam, 2011). The book is translated into Swedish by Elisabeth Fredholm.

Ali Lewis was born 1976 in North Yorkshire, England. Everybody Jam is her first novel. Link to review of Everybody Jam in the Guardian here.

The Peter Pan Prize is awarded by IBBY Sweden and will be presented during the Göteborg Book Fair in September.

Conference on Children’s Culture

Workshop for Children during the 2011 Award week. Photo: Stefan Tell

Coming up on April 3-4: conference on Children’s Culture arranged by the Swedish Arts Council and centres for children’s culture in Sweden. For two days discussions on topics on children’s and youth culture of today are highlighted. Is the greatness of children’s culture a myth? What does it mean working strategically with children’s culture?

Among the speakers are Patrice Baldwin, former Director of the International Drama Theatre and Education Association, IDEA, Prof. Johan Söderman  from Malmö University and Prof. Karin Helander, Director of the Center of the Studies for Children’s Culture at Stockholm University.

The location is Umeå, this year’s European capital of culture. More information will follow shortly at the Swedish Arts Council’s web, link here.

Photo: Stefan Tell

Today the nomination process for 2015 opens

The opportunity to nominate one or more candidates for the 2015 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) begins today.

Only nominating bodies approved by the jury are allowed to nominate candidates to the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature. Today the award office has established contact with several hundreds of organsiations worldwide.

The number of nominees has been steadily increasing since the award was founded 12 years ago. For the 2014 award, 238 candidates from 68 countries are nominated.

The nomination process closes on May 15. The nominees for 2015 will be announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 9, 2014.

Photo: Alexander Heimann, Frankfurt Buchmesse. Anna Thalbach talks to Director Helen Sigeland and Jury Chairman Larry Lempert on the subject of the 2013 Laureate Isol. Frankfurt Book Fair, October 2013.

Shaun Tan about Rules of Summer

2011 ALMA laureate Shaun Tan interviewed by Australian Radio National’s Miacheal Cathcart about his latest book Rules of Summer.

Children’s books exhibited at Airport Library

Photo: Stefan Tell

…and among these books by 2012 ALMA laureate Guus Kuijer.