The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017 to be announced on April 4th

The announcement of the 2017 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) takes place Tuesday April 4^th 1:00 pm CET at the National Library in Stockholm. Alice Bah Kuhnke, Minister for Culture and Democracy in Sweden is giving a speech and Jury Chairman Boel Westin will announce the laureate of 2017.

The announcement will be followed by a presentation of the laureate by the jury.

The press conference will be broadcast live on www.alma.se and via a link to Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the leading international book fair for children and young people.

ALMA rewards authors, illustrators, storytellers and reading promoting individuals and organisations. For this year’s award, 226 candidates from 60 countries are nominated. The list of nominated candidates is available here.

Press contact and further information

Mariella Kucer, Communications Officer
Phone: +46 76 540 10 17
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.

Meg Rosoff Accepts Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Before Full Stockholm Concert Hall

Meg Rosoff tonight received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from Swedish Minister for Culture and Democracy Mrs. Alice Bah Kuhnke. In her acceptance speech she expressed both praise and criticism.

Rosoff spoke joyfully but also gravely. She expressed pleasure and pride at being recognized for her work as an author. She also described a sense of sorrow for today’s world of child refugees, leaders who know too little about the importance of art, music, and literature for young people, and societies that value lawyers and bankers more than teachers and librarians.

Meg Rosoff emphasized the importance of the imagination, quoting Astrid Lindgren: “Everything great that happened in this world happened first in someone’s imagination.”

– It is a great honour and a great responsibility to carry on the work that Astrid Lindgren began. I am not only grateful for the recognition this prize brings, but for a country that puts such tremendous value on children’s books and children’s imaginations.

In her congratulatory speech, Minister Bah Kuhnke mentioned difficulties facing young people today:

– Teenage-years are a bit like no man´s land. No one is invited to come close and there are no clear sign posts for direction. It is comfortable for the rest of us to keep it on a certain distance. And it can be awfully difficult to dig into our teenagers’ emotions since it forces us to reflect on our own lives. Someone who doesn´t fear this is this year’s laurate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award; Meg Rosoff.

Musical entertainment was provided by Malena Ernman and Bo Kasper’s Orchestra. Hamadi Khemiri read from Rosoff’s novel, What I Was. The ceremony was hosted by Stockholm City Librarian Katti Hoflin.

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:
Helene Oljons, Communications Officer
Tel +46(0)765401025
E-mail: helene.oljons@kulturradet.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.

Meg Rosoff to Sweden

Author Meg Rosoff is coming to Sweden to receive the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). The Award Week begins May 23 and ends with the award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall on May 30. 

“That´s amazing, I have to sit down, I can´t believe that” was Rosoff’s reaction when Jury Chairman Boel Westin informed the American writer living in London that she is the laureate of the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature.

The program for the award week includes meetings with press and media, meetings with children and young adults and a visit to Astrid Lindgren’s childhood home Näs in Vimmerby. On May 25, Meg Rosoff meets the public in a conversation with ALMA jury member Maria Lassén-Seger at Kulturhuset in Stockholm. The event is open to the public and free of charge.

The preceding week Meg Rosoff will do a flying visit to Stockholm to participate in the talk show Babel on Swedish National Television. 

The award week ends with the award ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall lead by writer, artist and City Librarian Katti Hoflin:

– The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is the largest award for children’s and young adult literature. to be the compere of the tribute for this year´s laureate Meg Rosoff is an honour and a joy for an old warrior for children’s and young adult culture like me.

This year’s award is presented by Swedish Minister for Culture and Democracy, Alice Bah Kuhnke.

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.

Press invitation: The world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature to be announced on April 5

Welcome to cover the announcement of the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

Time: April 5 at 12:45 pm
Venue: Illustrator’s Café, Bologna Children’s Book Fair

Programme
12.45 Opening speaker is Staffan Forssell, Director General at the Swedish Arts Council and Helen Sigeland, Director at the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Speech by Robert Rydberg, Ambassador of Sweden to Italy.

13.00 The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2016 is announced by Jury Chairman Boel Westin through a streamed link from the National Library of Sweden, Stockholm. The announcement is followed by a short presentation of the laureate (s) by the jury present at the Illustrator’s Café.

13.45 A celebratory toast in the ALMA stand C5 in Hall 30

Jury representatives will be available for interviews and the award office may provide journalists, if possible, with contact information for people and organisations with expert knowledge about this year’s laureate(s). For interviews and contact details please contact Communications Officer Helene Andersson. Photos and press releases in various languages will be available in our press room: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/alma.

A press package with videos in high resolution from the press conference will be available on http://www.thenewsmarket.com/alma during the afternoon. Please register if you are a first time user. Questions about registration may be forwarded to www.alma.se/en

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.

Nominees announced for 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

Next year 215 candidates from 59 countries will be in the running for the world’s largest children’s literature award, jury chair Boel Westin announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair today.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) recognizes creators of literature in a broad sense. Nominees include authors, illustrators, storytellers, and persons and organisations who work to promote literacy. Jury chair Westin said:

“We are deeply impressed by the work of the nominating bodies in proposing qualified candidates for ALMA. I hope the nominee list will be an active reference for literacy promoters and educators around the world as they seek out the most outstanding contemporary literature for children and young adults.”

A total of 111 nominating bodies worldwide proposed candidates for the 2016 award. Many chose to re-nominate previous candidates, but this year’s list also includes 42 new names. New nominating countries for this year are China, Nicaragua, Palestine, Austria, and the United Arab Emirates. The complete list of nominees is online at www.alma.se.

“The jury now has the hard but very pleasant and rewarding job of finding one or more laureates for 2016. We have meetings once a month and between meetings we read piles of books and documents.”

The laureate or laureates of the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced in Stockholm and Bologna immediately following the jury’s final meeting on April 5 of next year.

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.

Nominations for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2016 to be revealed on October 15

The list of nominated candidates for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2016 will be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The program is a co-operation with the Frankfurt Book Fair and begins at 4.00 pm with a presentation of this year’s laureate, the South African promoting reading organisation PRAESA, Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa. After the presentation the nomination list will be available on the award website.

A list of the nominating bodies for 2016 is published on http://www.alma.se/en.

For questions and interviews in Frankfurt with Jury Chairman Boel Westin and PRAESA representative Carole Bloch please contact Communications Officer Helene Andersson.

PRAESA and Daniel Goldin to Göteborg Book Fair

Several international reading promoters will visit Sweden and Göteborg Book Fair on September 24-27. This year’s laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA), the South African organisation PRAESA, and Daniel Goldin, publisher and Director of the Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City, will participate in seminars and programs at the Swedish Art Council’s Young Stage (Ung scen). 

– We are excited about this year’s Book Fair, says ALMA Director Helen Sigeland. We hope that many visitors will be inspired by PRAESA’s amazing work, which focuses on encouraging children to read for enjoyment, building their self-esteem and helping them connect to their native language through reading and stories, which is highly topical issue today.

PRAESA is represented by Arabella Koopman, Content Manager for the national reading promotion project Nal’ibali, a network of reading clubs that uses media campaigns to encourage children to read and inspire parents, grandparents and teachers to read with them.

– Daniel Goldin is one of the world’s foremost reading promoters, a brilliant inspirer, says Helen Sigeland. Daniel Goldin is the publisher who discovered the 2013 ALMA Laureate Isol’s talent for illustrated children’s books.

Young stage (Ung scen) is situated in Hall A 03:22.

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.

Strong feelings when PRAESA received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2015

It was an emotional moment when Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) was presented to the South African reading promotion PRAESA by Swedish Minister for Culture and Democracy Alice Bah Kuhnke. PRAESA, Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa, is the first laureate ever from the African continent.

At the Stockholm Concert Hall PRAESA was represented by Director Carole Bloch, Training Coordinator Ntombizanele Mahobe and Programmes Support Officer Malusi Ntoyapi. In her speech Carole Bloch emphasized how stories actually can change children’s and young people’s lives:

– We believe that the stories we tell, write and read can change lives. Sharing stories inspire us all to struggle against becoming overwhelmed by the challenges we meet each day in our fractured and profoundly unequal society. This is also the impetus behind the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign PRAESA runs.

The Minister for Culture and Democracy, Alice Bah Kuhnke, underlined the importance of culture for democracy:

– For me as a minister of both culture and democracy it is very encouraging to see PRAESAs successful work using culture to strengthen democracy. A wide range of culture, arts and literature that reaches both adults and children is a prerequisite for democratic development and for preserving democracy.

Artist Kristina Amparo performed her own songs during the evening, and Swedish rap artist Petter performed his own text Fäller en tår. The program also included a street dance performance inspired by the South African Kwaito music style.

Host for the evening was Ingemar Fasth, Head of Literature and Libraries at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern.

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.

Lena Kåreland new member of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award jury

Today the Swedish Arts Council appointed Lena Kåreland as member of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award jury from July 1, 2015.

Lena Kåreland is Professor Emerita in Literature with a focus on didactics and literary theory. She is a member of the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books’ scientific board for producing a work on the history of Swedish children’s and young adult literature. She also reviews Swedish and foreign children’s literature in the Swedish National newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

Lena Kåreland has written some 15 books focusing on children and young adult literature, including monographs on Lennart Hellsing, Tove Jansson and Astrid Lindgren and has published numerous articles and essays in Swedish magazines and books.

She was awarded by the Swedish Academy in 2011, received the Gulliver Award in 1998 and the Karin Westman Berg Scholarship in 2013. She replaces Larry Lempert, who served the jury for 13 years, 10 of which as chairman.

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.

Focus on the joy of books and storytelling in this year’s award week

This year’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) week begins on Monday May 25. Representatives from South African organisation PRAESA will visit Stockholm and Vimmerby to participate in an extensive program targeting students, educators, media and an interested general public.

– Through their work, PRAESA has shown how crucial books and stories are in creating rich lives for children and young people, says Director Helen Sigeland. With their efforts to make literature vibrant in several languages and to raise children’s self-esteem as a starting point, we hope to inspire and engage. Many people want to meet them, and in the program this year the interaction with students and educators are particularly prominent. We are obviously very delighted and excited about this!

PRAESA, the Project of the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa, is an organisation working to promote reading and literature for children and young people. They were announced as this year’s recipient on March 31. In Sweden, PRAESA will be represented by Director Carole Bloch, Training Coordinator Ntombizanele Mahobe and Malusi Ntoyapi, Programmes Support Officer.

Selection of planned events during the award week:

May 26 Participation in the award ceremony for the reading promotion project Children and Books.
May 26 Public talk with author and jury member Mats Kempe at Kulturhuset.
May 27 Workshop with children at Kulturhuset.
May 28 Visit to Hjulsta elementary school that runs the project “The world’s ALMA”.
May 29 Visit to the Astrid Lindgren school in Vimmerby.
May 29 Opening of the new exhibition The whole world’s burning! at Astrid Lindgren’s Näs.
June 1 Award Ceremony at the Stockholm Concert Hall.

More information about the award week will be published on www.alma.se/en.

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.