The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which amounts to SEK 5 million (approx. 500 000 EUR), is awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and promoters of reading may be rewarded.  For the past two years PaperTigers has had the honor of being a nominating body for the award.

Today, the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominees were revealed at the Frankfurt Book Fair by the Chairman of the Jury, Mr. Larry Lempert. 175 candidates representing 62 different countries are eligible for the world’s largest children’s and young adult literature award. We are so pleased to see PaperTigers’ three nominees on the list: author and illustrator Allen Say, author and illustrator Grace Lin, and Katha, a “profit-for-all” organization based in India. You can view the complete list of nominated candidates  here.

On March 29, 2011, the winner or winners of the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced at the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren in Vimmerby, Sweden. The announcement will be held simultaneously at Bologna Book Fair and will also be broadcast live on the award website.

To keep abreast of  today’s exciting announcement and to learn more about the nominated candidates, be sure to check out the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award blog.

One of my highlights from the 2010 Bologna Book Fair was attending the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award announcement and seeing the winner, Kitty Crowther, who unbeknownst to us had been sitting next to us,  accept the award. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is announced  every year in March and then in  late spring, the ALMA winner visits Sweden and Europe to partake in Award Week: A Spotlight on Children’s Literature. This year Award Week will take place from May 23rd to June 1st and highlights will include:

May 25 ~ Meet Kitty Crowther, House of Culture, Stockholm, Sweden

“If I had to choose one word to describe myself, it would be storyteller,” says Kitty Crowther. Listen to her presentation of her work and her inspiration. Kitty will be joined on stage by  illustration expert Ulla Rhedin and Johanna Lindbäck, one of Sweden’s top literature bloggers, for a program that will showcase Kitty’s work and contextualise her inspiration and development as an artist.

May 26 ~ Presentation at the International Youth Library, Münich, Germany

After a welcome speech by head librarian Dr. Christiane Raabe, German illustrator Judith Drews will give a lecture on the work and importance of Kitty Crowther. Kitty will also present her work.

May 28 ~  Astrid Lindgren Conference, Vimmerby, Sweden

The bi-annual Astrid Lindgren conference in Astrid Lindgren’s childhood town, Vimmerby, gathers academics and scholars to discuss children’s literature and its development. Kitty Crowther will give the key-note address.

June 1 – Awards Ceremony, Stockholm Concert Hall, Stockholm, Sweden

This  evening celebrates Kitty Crowther and her world of images  and also spotlights the importance of children’s literature. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be presented to Kitty Crowther in front of  1,000 invited guests. Kitty will receive the award amount of 5 million SEK (which makes the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award the world’s largest children literature award) as well as an original work by Swedish illustrator Eva Lindström.  The award will be  presented by H.R.H. Princess Madeleine of Sweden.

For more information on the ALMA Award Week check out the ALMA blog.

Lee & Low Books, an independent children’s book publisher focused on diversity, has announced the winner of the New Voices Award Honor for 2008 – Hayan Charara of Houston, Texas- for his poignant story, The Three Lucys.

The Three Lucys explores the realities of war from the perspective of Luli, a young Lebanese boy whose most beloved possessions are his three cats, all named Lucy. Returning home with his parents after a visit with his aunt and uncle, Luli discovers that conflicts between people can change some things forever. But in the end, Luli also learns to hope for a future in which change is possible as differences are put aside. Mr. Charara’s writing is honest and lyrical and captures a strong sense of place. The Three Lucys is based on the experiences of the author’s younger brother during the month-long war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006.

A first-generation Arab American born in Michigan, Mr. Charara is a poet, editor, and teacher. While this is his first foray into writing for children, Mr. Charara’s work for adults has appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies.

Lee & Low Books established the New Voices Award in 2000 to encourage writers of color to submit their work to a publisher that takes pride in nurturing new talent. The award reflects the company’s mission of meeting the need for stories that children of color can identify with and that all children can enjoy. “When we started the company, there was a lot of interest in books focused on diversity,” says co-founder Tom Low, “but most of the titles were folktales about exotic people from distant lands. We felt strongly that it was important to have books with a contemporary setting that reflect how we live today.”

Lee & Low has published over 200 books since 1991. A number of their titles have won major awards and honors, including the Coretta Scott King Award, the Pura Belpré Honor Award, and The Jane Addams Peace Award.

When the American Library Association recently presented its Youth Media Awards, an exciting announcement was the winner of the new William C. Morris Young Adult Debut Award.

The award’s namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. Bill Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children’s and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award celebrates the achievement of a previously unpublished author, or authors, who have made a strong literary debut in writing for young adult readers. The work cited will illuminate the teen experience and enrich the lives of its readers through its excellence, demonstrated by:

* Compelling, high quality writing and/or illustration
* The integrity of the work as a whole
* Its proven or potential appeal to a wide range of teen readers

PaperTigers is pleased to congratulate the first-ever winner of the William C. Morris Award:

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, Charlotte Miller strikes a bargain with the malevolent Jack Spinner, who can transform straw into gold, to save her family’s mill. With masterly writing and vivid characterization and setting, Bunce weaves a powerfully seductive tale of triumph over evil.

“Bunce has crafted a story that superbly embodies the criteria for this award. Her work is compelling and has broad teen appeal,” said Chair Bonnie Kunzel. “Thoughtful reflection and spirited discussion characterized this outstanding committee’s work as its members selected a shortlist that honors the influence of William C. Morris on the field of young adult publishing.”