9 Canadians nominated for $700K Astrid Lindgren Award, the world's richest children's literature prize
The global award recognizes one individual or organization for their contributions to children's literature
There are nine Canadian nominees for the 2022 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, including Robert Munsch, Zetta Elliott, Jon Klassen and the Canadian Children's Book Centre.
Administered by the Swedish Arts Council, the global award annually recognizes one individual or organization for their outstanding contribution to children's and young adult literature.
The 2022 laureate will be announced on March 22, 2022 and will receive 5 million Swedish kronor ($718,730 Cdn) in prize money.
The largest award of its kind, the global prize honours the legacy of Astrid Lindgren and promotes children's literature as an art form around the world.
Lindgren was a Swedish storyteller, humanist and renewer of children's literature. She is best known for her acclaimed children's book series featuring memorable characters like Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga and Karlsson-on-the-Roof.
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was founded by the Swedish Government after Lindgren died in 2002, in order to continue her passion in developing children's literature as an art form.
Last year's winner was French author Jean-Claude Mourlevat.
Robert Munsch among Canadian candidates
Munsch is one of the most beloved and bestselling Canadian children's writers of our time. Originally from the United States, he moved to Canada to work as a nursery school teacher and began telling stories here. He went on to become a bestselling children's author. He lives in Guelph, Ont.
Munsch has published nearly 100 books, including classics like The Paper Bag Princess, Love You Forever and 50 Below Zero, which have sold over 80 million copies in North America alone. His stories have been translated into 20 languages, and he annually receives about 10,000 fan letters. His latest books include I Can Fix It!.
One of his most acclaimed titles, The Paper Bag Princess has sold seven million copies worldwide since its publication in 1980. It has been optioned for screen by Universal Pictures.
LISTEN | Robert Munsch reflects on his life and legacy:
"My stories have no adult morals. They're not to improve children. They're just for kids to like," Munsch said in his recent interview with The Next Chapter, where he also revealed he has ongoing dementia.
"My stories, strangely enough, are all there. The stories will be the last thing to go, I think."
Children's authors and illustrators get recognition
Elliott is feminist writer and children's author from Ajax, Ont. Her work includes the middle-grade fantasy book series Dragons in a Bag, the poetry books A Place Inside of Me and Say Her Name, inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum. She has been living in the United States for the past 20 years.
"Decolonizing your imagination means recognizing how power operates, even in the realm of dreams," Elliott said in an interview with CBC Books.
"For so many people, we just accept what we're given — but I'm encouraging parents at this point to talk to their kids about how books are produced. Books were magical for me as a child, but books do not just magically appear — there is a whole system of curators and gatekeepers."'
WATCH | Zetta Elliott reads poems from Say Her Name:
Klassen is a Governor General Award-winning illustrator and author from Toronto and now based in Los Angeles. He is one of the most sought after illustrators in North America. He wrote the Hat series and collaborated with American author Mac Barnett on books like Triangle, The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Circle.
He was selected a member of the Order of Canada for "his transformative contributions to children's literature" in 2018. As an animator, Klassen also worked on big animation productions like Kung Fu Panda 2 and Coraline.
The Rock from the Sky is his latest children's book.
LISTEN | Jon Klassen discusses The Rock From The Sky:
"'There's a thing in my books that isn't really allowed to happen in animation — because in my books I like to skip the action pretty often ... I found working on books was exactly what I wanted," he said in an interview with CBC Books.
"My solo books have almost no background in them. I think I can only focus on one at a time. If there's a background, that's the story. But if there's a character, that's the story. I have to make that as clear as possible."
The other Canadian finalists include Debroah Ellis, Eric Walters, Isabelle Arsenault, Kagiso Lesego Melope, Jacques Goldstyn and Nahid Kazemi.
Ellis is a Canadian writer of children's books. Her book The Breadwinner was praised by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film produced by Angelina Jolie. Her adventure novel Looking for X won the Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text in 2000. Her other books include the children's short story collection Sit and nonfiction book Kids of Kabul.
"If I were a parent, maybe I'd have a different perspective but I think that whatever we do to children around the world should be reflected in their literature, otherwise we shouldn't do it. If we're too embarrassed to tell them about it in their books, then we shouldn't be doing it," said Ellis in an interview with CBC News.
Walters is one of Canada's most prolific writers for young readers. He's written over 100 books, including Run and We All Fall Down, which was listed as one of the bestselling 150 Canadian books for Canada 150. Walters won the 2020 Governor General's Literary Prize for young people's literature — text for The King of Jam Sandwiches. His latest book is Don't Stand So Close to Me.
"I have written characters where I have walked away from the keyboard and deliberately washed my hands as if they had been tainted by the words they typed," Walters said in a Q&A with CBC Books.
"Climbing inside a character is often difficult, especially when you find that character disagreeable or even repulsive. That is the challenge of the writer."
WATCH | Eric Walters on the importance of reading Canadian:
Isabelle Arsenault is an illustrator, children's author and three-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award. Her illustrated books include Colette's Lost Pet, Louis Undercover written by Fanny Britt, and Virginia Wolf written by Kyo Maclear. She is also the author of the picture book Albert's Quiet Quest.
Lesego Melope is a writer raised in South Africa and has lived in Ottawa, Ont. She is the author of Dancing in the Dust, The Mending Season, Such a Lonely, Lovely Road and This Book Betrays My Brother. Her novels often take place in her native South Africa, but tackle social and political issues relevant to countries around the world.
"My thing has always been to write books that reflect the reality of Black South Africans or anywhere in the world — the reality of people who don't see themselves in books very much," she said in her interview with CBC Books.
WATCH | Kagiso Lesego Molope discusses her debut novel, This Book Betrays My Brother:
Goldstyn is an illustrator and political cartoonist from Montreal. Her books include Letters to a Prisoner and The Eleventh Hour, a picture book inspired by true events.
Kazemi is an Iranian-Canadian illustrator. Her work includes The Old Woman and Over the Rooftops, Under the Moon. She is also the author of I'm Glad That You're Happy.
The award jury has nominated 282 candidates from 71 countries this year, including internationally renowned creators like #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds, Brazilian illustrator and Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Roger Mello, British illustrator/author Shirley Hughes, and Iranian writer Houshang Moradi Kermani.
Canadian Children's Book Centre among nominated organizations
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award honour not only individuals, but also organizations that make significant contribution to children's literature. The Canadian Children's Book Centre is among the candidates.
Founded in 1976, the Canadian Children's Book Centre is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting and supporting Canadian books for young people. Their programs include Canadian Children's Book Week and the TD Grade One Book Giveaway, designed to introduce young readers to the authors and illustrators that create the stories.
Some other organizations nominated this year are Indigenous Literacy Foundation from Australia, Internationale Jugendbibliothek from Germany and A & A Book Trust from India and Book Dash from South Africa.
You can find the full list of the 2022 nominees from all countries on the award website.
