The nominees for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2019 have been announced

Frankfurt, 11 October 2018 – Next year, 246 candidates from 64 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 Frankfurter Buchmesse.

“The nomination list is a gold mine for anyone interested in international children’s and Young Adult literature. I hope that this list will be spread and used in all possible situations concerning reading and storytelling”, says professor Boel Westin after the presentation.

Facts and figures
More than a hundred nominating bodies worldwide have proposed candidates for the 2019 award. Among the 246 candidates, 46 per cent are women, 41 per cent men and 13 per cent are organisations. The candidates represent all continents. They are authors, illustrators, reading promoters and storytellers. Many have been nominated before, but this year’s list also includes 47 new names. The United Kingdom has the highest number of nominees (24).

Please find the complete list of nominated candidates for ALMA 2019 here: http://www.alma.se/en/Nominations/Candidates/2019(opens in a new window)

The laureate or laureates of the 2019 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced in Stockholm and Bologna immediately following the jury’s final meeting on 2 April 2019. So far, seventeen laureates have received the award; the latest recipient is the American author Jacqueline Woodson. 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 challenging but very pleasant and rewarding job of finding one or more laureates for 2019. 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.

For information or interview requests, please contact
Mariella Kucer, Communications Officer
Phone: +46 (0)76 5401017
E-mail: mariella.kucer@alma.se