Laurie Halse Anderson received the 2023 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden

This evening, Laurie Halse Anderson received the 2023 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award diploma from  Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden during a wonderful ceremony at Concert Hall in Stockholm.

Laurie Halse Anderson received a diplom and a prize sum of 5 million SEK for her outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature.

Laurie Halse Anderson is one of America’s foremost writers for young adults. Her breakthrough novel, Speak, was published in 1999 and has been translated into many languages and adapted for film. In her richly expressive novels for young people she gives voice to the adolescent experience with sometimes brutal honesty. The yearning for love and belonging is a recurring theme for Anderson.

 
The jury’s motivation:
"In her tightly written novels for young adults, Laurie Halse Anderson gives voice to the search for meaning, identity, and truth, both in the present and the past. Her darkly radiant realism reveals the vital role of time and memory in young people’s lives. Pain and anxiety, yearning and love, class and sex are investigated with stylistic precision and dispassionate wit. With tender intensity, Laurie Halse Anderson evokes moods and emotions, and never shies from even the hardest things."

Stina Wirsén, Swedish illustrator created this year’s diploma.

Pictures from the Awards ceremony