(Stockholm) The prestigious Astrid Lindgren Prize for Children’s Literature was awarded on Tuesday to American writer Laurie Halse Anderson, known for her books for teenagers on heavy subjects such as sexual violence.
Considered too explicit, several of the works of the 61-year-old author are banned from many schools in several states of her country, underlined the jury of the award, the most richly endowed in children’s literature.
Her book “Speak”, released in 1999 and which revealed her to the general public, recounts the difficulties of speaking out for a thirteen-year-old girl after a rape.
“She reveals with a dark and radiant realism the vital role of time and memories in the lives of young people. Pain, anxiety, desire, love, class and gender are approached with unbiased wit and stylistic precision,” praised the jury.
“I am very grateful”, confided the writer, visibly surprised, contacted by telephone before the ceremony.
In addition to the prize awarded in Stockholm, the author will also receive 5 million crowns (approximately 654,000 Canadian dollars).
Long before the “Me Too” era, her books tackled taboo subjects such as child sexual abuse, of which she herself was a victim.
An experience that she reveals in her collection of poems “Shout”, published in 2020.
“Many young readers have shared how this book has helped them,” said Astrid Lindgren Memorial Fellow Henry Ascher.
The novelist addresses many other themes in her books, such as eating disorders, or the way in which trauma passes from generation to generation.
The Astrid Lindgren Prize was created in 2002 in honor of the famous Swedish novelist, creator in particular of the character of Pippi Longstocking.
It is funded by the Swedish government, which wishes through this prize “to ensure that every child has the right to beautiful stories”.