Author Barbro Lindgren accepted the 2014 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award on Monday evening before a crowded audience in the Stockholm Concert Hall. H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria presented the award, and Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth hailed Lindgren for her literary achievements:
– Barbro Lindgren is a brave and innovative author. She gives her readers courage and is not afraid to describe the world as it really is. Loneliness, setbacks, and even death are all part of life. Lindgren does not try to protect children; instead, her honesty, humor and openness strengthen children to think and talk about difficult things for themselves.
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world’s largest prize for children’s and young adult literature. The award, which amounts to SEK 5 million (approx. 521 000 EUR), is awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and those active in reading promotion may be rewarded.
– I am very happy to have heard from so many people saying that they are happy for me, because it must be fairly common for people to get cross and feel it’s unfair when someone else gets an award, Barbro Lindgren said in her acceptance speech.
She also spoke of Astrid Lindgren’s importance for her career. Astrid Lindgren had headed the children’s books division at Rabén & Sjögren, where Barbro Lindgren sent her early manuscripts:
– Astrid wrote back to me with a long reply, in which she went into great detail about how you actually write a book. One thing she said was that I shouldn’t have so many main characters. Two or three was plenty.
Barbro Lindgren’s sons, Mathias and Andreas, together the award-winning songwriting duo Bröderna Lindgren, took the stage to perform Superhjälten (The Superhero) with Amanda Bergman and En flugas väg (The fly’s progress) with Ebbot Lundberg. Edda Magnason and band performed material from Magnason’s upcoming album and a song from the film Monica Z. Actor Lamine Dieng was master of ceremonies.
Video content in broadcast quality with highlights, soundbites and B-rolls from the ceremony will be available at www.thenewsmarket.com/alma during the evening.
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.