New Partnership with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award

ALSC is always on the lookout for opportunities to expand our reach and find ways to collaborate with other institutions that have similar priorities. We seek out opportunities routinely, but in some cases, we are approached with unexpected and very welcome opportunities. One such instance happened recently.

Late last year, we were approached by the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) jury, asking if we would be interested in serving as a nominating body. After discussion with the ALSC Board, we decided to accept the offer. As of February 2025, we have been officially elected to serve as a nominating body moving forward.

For those who are unfamiliar with the ALMA, here is a bit of background. The award was created in 2002 after the passing of Astrid Lindgren, with the intention of honoring authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and people or organizations that promote reading. The award is valued at ~$500,000. Previous American recipients include Laurie Halse Anderson (2023), Jacqueline Woodson (2018), and Katherine Paterson (2006). Only approved nominating bodies and previous laureates can submit nominations.

This is a gratifying recognition of ALSC’s expertise around children’s literature and literacy. It’s also an exciting opportunity for ALSC to build up our presence internationally, and find ways of elevating children’s literature creators beyond our own suite of awards. Newly elected board members will tackle this project each year, engaging with our membership and building the nomination dossiers. This will provide an opportunity to build camaraderie and bond over a common task beyond routine board work.

In the coming months, we will develop an internal process for nominee selection, including how to encourage input from ALSC members to ensure that we submit robust and convincing nomination packages that showcase the incredible talent of children’s literature creators in America.

We look forward to this new and exciting collaboration!

Warmly,

Rob Bittner, on behalf of the ALSC Board of Directors

The post New Partnership with the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 ALSC is always on the lookout for opportunities to expand our reach and find ways to collaborate with other institutions that have similar priorities. We seek out opportunities routinely, but in some cases, we are approached with unexpected and very welcome opportunities. One such instance happened recently. Late last year, we were approached by the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) jury, asking if we would be interested in serving as a nominating body. After discussion with the ALSC Board, we decided to accept the offer. As of February 2025, we have been officially elected to serve as a nominating body moving forward. For those who are unfamiliar with the ALMA, here is a bit of background. The award was created in 2002 after the passing of Astrid Lindgren, with the intention of honoring authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and people or organizations that promote reading. The award is valued at ~$500,000….
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