American author Jacqueline Woodson has won the $600,000 (approx ₹4 crore) Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the richest award for children’s writing, for her body of work.
The author expressed her joy on Twitter:
Woodson’s memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, about growing up as an African American in America of the 1960s-70s had won the National Book Prize in 2014.
{{/usCountry}}Woodson’s memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, about growing up as an African American in America of the 1960s-70s had won the National Book Prize in 2014.
{{/usCountry}}“Jacqueline Woodson introduces us to resilient young people fighting to find a place where their lives can take root. In language as light as air, she tells stories of resounding richness and depth,” the Lindgren jury is quoted as saying in a BBC report.
According to the Publishers Weekly, Woodson began writing in 1990 with her debut Last Summer with Maizon, which was the first book in a trilogy about the friendship between two girls. Though Woodson has also written for adults, she is best known for her young adult books.
The prize, named after the Swedish creator of Pippi Longstocking, includes five million Swedish krona ($600,000) and will be awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm on 28 May.
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