Next year, 235 candidates from 60 countries will be in the running for the world’s largest and most prestigious children’s literature award, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. This was announced today by ALMA jury chairman Professor Boel Westin at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Click here for the complete list of nominated candidates for ALMA 2018!
“The nomination list is a gold mine for anyone interested in international children’s and YA literature. I hope that this list will be spread and used in all possible situations concerning reading and storytelling.” says professor Boel Westin after making the announcement.
More than hundred nominating bodies worldwide have proposed candidates for the 2018 award. This time, the jury has 235 candidates from 60 countries to consider. All continents are represented among the nominated writers, illustrators, reading promoters and storytellers. Many candidates are re-nominated, but this year’s list also includes 40 new names. United Kingdom has the highest number of nominees. New countries to enter the nomination list are Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Antigua and Barbuda.
So far, seventeen laureates have received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). The latest recipient is the German illustrator Wolf Erlbruch, who exclaimed “Oh dear” when he got the call from the jury earlier this spring. The award rewards works or activities of the highest quality but the laureates must also embrace the humanistic values that Astrid Lindgren treasured.
“The jury now has the hard but very pleasant and rewarding job of finding one or more laureates for 2018. We have meetings once a month and between meetings we read piles of books and documents. I look forward to learn more about the works and the activities of the candidates.” says Boel Westin.
The laureate or laureates of the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced in Stockholm and Bologna immediately following the jury’s final meeting on March 27 of next year.
The nomination event is a co-operation with the Frankfurt Book Fair and took place at the Kids Stage (Hall 3.0 K 139).
For information or interview requests, please contact
Mariella Kucer, Communications Officer
Phone: +46 (0)76 5401017
E-mail: mariella.kucer@alma.se
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature. The award, which amounts to SEK 5 million, is given annually to a single laureate or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and reading promoters are eligible. The award is designed to promote interest in children’s and young adult literature. The UN convention of rights of the child is the foundation of our work. An expert jury selects the laureate(s) from candidates nominated by institutions and organisations all over the world. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was founded by the Swedish government in 2002 and is administrated by the Swedish Arts Council.
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 