French author Marion Brunet has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA), the world’s biggest international children’s and young adult literature prize. In a joint announcement LINK from Stockholm and the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, judges praised Brunet for her “shimmering and crystal-clear prose" over 15 primarily young adult titles. Boel Westin, chair of the ALMA jury, added: “Marion Brunet is a brilliant describer of young people’s lives in an increasingly materialistic and threatening world. Present and future intertwine in her luminous stories, where the boundaries of friendship and love are constantly tested. Her work cuts to the heart of our time.”
Brunet has had only two titles translated into English – Vanda and Summer of Reckoning, both published by Bitter Lemon Press in Katherine Gregor’s translation. The latter title was shortlisted for the 2020 CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger.
