The nominees for the prestigious children's literature award Astrid Lindgren 2017 were recently announced during the 2016 Frankfurt Book Fair. Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was established by the Swedish government in 2002. The Lindgren Award annually recognizes one or more living people for their career contributions. It also recognizes extant institutions for their long-term sustainable work. A total of 226 nominees from 60 countries will compete for The 2017 Lindgren Award, also known as the Little Nobel Prize. Two Bulgarians entered the list of nominees for the first time - artist Luben Zidarov and one of the most popular contemporary writers of children's books Julia Spiridonova. Over 400 of her screenplays were broadcast on the Bulgarian National Television. Here is how Julia Spiridonova reacted to the news about her nomination for The Lindgren Award:

“I was extremely happy that I was nominated together with Luben Zidarov by the Children's Books Foundation. We walk hand in hand in those nominations, but the feeling of being nominated for that prestigious award is very pleasant. I grew up with Luben Zidarov's illustrations. I remember that I refused to read some books, merely because the illustrations to those books were not made by Luben Zidarov. He helped me discover some favorite books such as Hofmann's Fairytales. The competition for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is severe. We place alongside people such as celebrated English cartoonist, illustrator and children's writer Quentin Blake who is known best for illustrating books by Roald Dahl.”

Julia loved reading when she was a child. However, there were not too many books suitable for her age. She couldn't find books that may answer her questionseasily. In the 1980's the Coevals series appeared on the book market. It made Julia start writing children's books and she became a successful writer soon after. She wrote the famous novels Big Deal Tina, Countess Bathory and Max. Here is what Julia Spiridonova told Radio Bulgaria about her latest novel Chronos:

“Chronos is a very special book, because it is different from the previous three novels. All my characters battles huge problems. However, no one can compare with the main character Chronos. He is a seventeen year-old genius in mathematics who makes everyone from his high school very proud with him. Meanwhile, he is a drug addict. Chronos is a very honest book. I wanted as many people to read that book as possible. The book tells people how difficult the life of a drug addict is and how difficult is for them to overcome that addiction and take their lives back. I hope that all parents would understand how serious that problem is.”

Julia Spiridonova realized that it is worth showing the benefits of reading to as many young readers as possible. That is why she has been touring the country and meeting with many Bulgarian children. She launched several volunteerinitiatives which turned very successful and showed children how important it was to read books. She also launched the initiative Who Loves Fairytales at a library in Sofia where volunteers read fairytales to future readers. The initiative is directed to children who have not learnt the alphabet yet. Julia regrets the fact that the Bulgarian language and literature curricula do not encourage reading.

Who is Julia Spiridonova's favorite author or character?

“I read a lot and I can't name one characteronly. Perhaps, the biggest star of my childhood Astrid Lindgren is still the bestauthor to me. That is why I am extremely happy that I was nominated for the 2017 Lindgren Award. As a person and an artist Astrid Lindgren has always been my guiding light. She is a writer who literally changed my life. When I read Pippi Longstocking, I was astounded by her idea to write such a book. Then I started dreaming of becoming a children's writer one day-the best profession ever.”

The winner of Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced at a ceremony at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm on April 4, 2017.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov