PAWA to co-ordinate Africa's nomination for literary award

Accra, April 1, GNA - The Pan African Writers' Association (PAWA) has been selected and mandated to nominate an African writer or illustrator of children's literature for consideration for the award of the world's largest prize for children's literature.

This was contained in a press release signed by Professor Atukwei Okai, Secretary-General of PAWA, in Accra on Friday.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, bearing the prize money of five million Swedish crowns (approximately 655,000 dollars) is the second largest literature prize in the world.

The deadline for nominations to Sweden is May 15, 2005. PAWA, therefore, would receive submissions from member-associations and all African publishers till April 30 after which a PAWA-empanelled jury would evaluate the submitted entries and decide on PAWA's nomination for Africa.

In all, there are over 40 selected nominating bodies from around the world.

PAWA's contact details are: E-mail: pawahouse@hotmail.com; Fax: (233-21)-773042; Telephone, (233-21)-773062, 773042. Post Office Box CT 456, Cantonments, Accra, Ghana. Courier: PAWA HOUSE, Roman Road, Roman Ridge, Accra, Ghana.

The Pan African Writers' Association, which brings together and represents all the national writer's associations in Africa, is among the nine international organizations, which have been charged with the task of contributing nominations for writing, illustrating and story-telling as well as reading promotion activities for their specific regions or areas.

"PAWA is to cover Africa, while the European Writers Congress (EWC) General Secretariat covers Europe and ACCU/Cultural Centre for UNESCO covers Asia. The other international organizations include UNESCO and UNICEF."

Astrid Lindgren is Sweden's favourite author and one of the world's most popular.

She passed away in 2002 at the age of 94 and to honour her memory and promote children and youth literature around the world, the Swedish Government founded the international prize in her name.

The prize, given annually to one or more recipients, irrespective of language or nationality, is for a body of work that upholds the highest artistic quality and evokes the deeply humanistic spirit that Astrid Lindgren treasured.