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Stockholm (dpa) - The French author of young books, Jean-Claude Mourlevat, will be awarded the renowned Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize this year.
This was announced by the responsible jury on Tuesday in Stockholm.
"Jean-Claude Mourlevat is a shining innovator of the traditions of fairy tales, open to both the hardest and the most beautiful," said the jury chairman Boel Westin in praise of the winner.
In the narrative worlds of the 69-year-old, time and space are suspended, while in his dreamy and precise prose he depicts eternal themes such as desire and love, vulnerability and war.
Mourlevat's work, which is always surprising, combines the material of the old epic with contemporary reality.
He likes to move in genres such as fairy tales, fables and fantasy.
The award was created by the Swedish government in honor of the great children's book author Astrid Lindgren (“Pippi Longstocking”, “Michel from Lönneberga”) and has been awarded annually since 2003.
With prize money of five million Swedish kronor (around 490,000 euros), it is the world's most highly endowed award for children's and youth literature.
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Born in 1952 in Ambert in Auvergne, Mourlevat is one of the most important French authors of books for children and young people.
After studying in Strasbourg, Toulouse, Stuttgart, Bonn and Paris, he first taught German before working as a theater actor, clown and director in France and Germany.
The theater also made him write.
He made his debut as an author in 1997 with the picture book “Histoire de l'enfant et de l'oeuf” (The story of the child and the egg).
Since then he has published around 30 books, which have been translated into almost 20 languages, including some into German.
He lives near Saint-Étienne with his wife and two children.
"I can't believe it," said the honorable, overwhelmed, when Westin telephoned him about his award shortly before the announcement.
He has been a candidate for ten years and is now getting the award, but is unbelievable.
“It's such a big surprise that I can't say anything interesting.
It's so unexpected, ”he said.
"C'est incroyable.
Merci! "
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The award will be officially presented on May 31 at an online ceremony at which this time the previous year's winner, children's book illustrator Baek Heena from South Korea, will also be honored.
The award ceremony was canceled in 2020 due to corona.
This year, 262 candidates from 68 countries were nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Prize (Alma), including the author and illustrator Janosch and six other authors, illustrators and organizations from Germany.
The last and so far only German award winner in 2017 was Wolf Erlbruch.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210330-99-30280 / 4
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Price announcement
List of candidates
Author's website
Prize jury about Mourlevat