Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2017

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I'm playing a little catch-up here.
On  the 16th of October, the long list of candidates for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2017 was released. 226 candidates from 60 countries have been nominated. Of these 63 candidates have been nominated for the first time.This list is a veritable gold mine for anyone interested in childrens' literature and represents the vibrant and powerful world of childrens' books. Representatives from every continent on the planet epitomise the best of the best.
Established to honour the late Astrid Lindgren, creator of Pippi Longstocking, Ronia the Robbers' Daughter and so many other truly magical and beloved childrens' books, The ALMA Award is presented yearly to indicate the importance that childrens' books have in the lives of young people and to inspire authors, illustrators, storytellers and promoters of reading everywhere.The award is chosen by a jury, the 12 members of which include authors, librarians, literary critics, illustrators and scholars. One member represents the family of Astrid Lindgren. It rewards artistic activity on the very highest level and continues to preserve and promote the ideals and spirit of Astrid Lindgren.
The 2016 ALMA laureate award went to the superb Meg Rosoff!
Of course, due to its' extensive nature, I won't recount the entire 2017 list here, but I will attached the link, not wanting to exclude any of the worthy candidates. And they are all worthy!. And here are a few that I have taken note of...
From Ireland, we are every excited to see two of our Childrens' Laureates, past and present make this list: Eoin Colfer and PJ Lynch!
The list from France includes several of my favourite authors and illustrators: Timothee de Fombelle, Tomi Ungerer, and Jean-Claude Mourlevat.
From the Italian segment, the work of Beatrice Alemagna has been included.
The Swedish list includes Eva Eriksson, Eva Lindstrom and Ulf Stark.
From South Africa, we have Beverly Naidoo, among other notables.
I love that Polands' nominee is the organisation All of Poland Reads to Kids!
The Uk has quite an extnsive selection, including Malorie Blackman, Neil Gaiman, David Almond, Patrick Ness, Shirley Hughes.....
As does the US, which includes Eric Carle, Ursula LeGuin, and Mildred Taylor.
Impressive, no? And that's just a taster. For the complete list worldwide, just follow the link:
http://www.alma.se/Documents/2016/Nominated_Candidates_2017.pdf

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