Warsaw – Poznan, March 21st, 2015
Under the honorary patronage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Children’s Commissioner and National Library the IV edition of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Literary Competition for a Contemporary Book for Children and Adolescents has been launched.
The organizer – “ABCXXI – All of Poland Reads to Kids” Foundation officially announced the opening of the Competition on Saturday, March 21st on a press conference during the Books for Children and Young People - Poznań Trade Fair Meetings. The Competition is carried out in cooperation with the publishing houses: Literatura, Nasza Ksiągarnia and Publicat. The Competition’s strategic partner is PZU Foundation.
Astrid Lindgren Literary Competition has been organized by the “ABCXXI – All of Poland Reads to Kids” Foundation since 2006. It sets high standards of literature for children, provided by the literary works of Astrid Lindgren, the Patron of the contest. The high quality of the awarded works and their quick publication helped the Competition to gain recognition of both authors and readers.
During the previous editions about two thousand works were send to the Foundation. Among the winners one could find widely recognized writers such as Barbara Kosmowska, Paweł Beręsewicz or the two-time Grand Prix winner – Marcin Szczygielski as well as novices. Some of them, like Katarzyna Ryrych and Ida Pierelotkin after receiving the award in the Competition, started a professional career as a writer of children’s and youth literature. Therefore, the Competition not only enriches the market with valuable books but also contributes to the discovery of new talents in the field.
The jury of the IV edition is comprised of experts: Prof. Joanna Papuzińska, a literary scholar and writer, Prof. Grzegorz Leszczyński, a literary scholar, presidents or editors of publishing houses Literatura, Nasza Ksiągarnia and Publicat as well as representatives of the Foundation.
The competition is for adults, both writers and novices. The form is not restricted in any way – it could be a fairytale, a story, a novel or a collection of short stories. The topic has to be contemporary. Works can be entered in the competition in three age categories: for children below age 6, age 6 to 10, and age 10 to 14. The winners are awarded financial prizes. The first prize in all of categories is 15 000zl, the second – 10 000zl, the third – 5 000zl. The Grand Prix in the competition is a sculpture of Pippi Longstocking lifting a horse, made by the renowned Dorota Dziekiewicz-Pilich. The Rules and Regulations of the Competition can be found here http://www.calapolskaczytadzieciom.pl/konkurs-astrid-lindgren. Works need to be sent on Foundation’s address till September 30th this year. Settlement of the Competition is in March, 2016. All of the awarded books are going to be published by partner publishing houses within six months from the day of the announcement of the winners.
Astrid Lindgren Literary Competition would not exist without the financial support of Partners. PZU Foundation, the Strategic Partner of the Competition, understands perfectly the culture-making role of the project and supports it since the very first edition.
Media patrons of the Competition: TVP ABC, Radio Bajka, Polityka
Contact for media:
Agnieszka Jakubik, “ABCXXI – All of Poland Reads to Kids” Foundation, Coordinator of the Competition: ajakubik@cpcd.pl, tel. 603-348-368
More information: http://www.calapolskaczytadzieciom.pl/konkurs-astrid-lindgren
Strategic Partner of the Project:
