Adding to a growing list of Zimbabwean literary recognisations this year, Audrey Chirenje and Ignatius Mabasa have been nominated for the 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. The two writers are part of a list of nominees that features almost 20 African storytellers from across 10+ countries.
The nominees were announced at a ceremony in Sweden last month and they feature writers, illustrators, storytellers, reading promoters, and organisations that have made amazing strides in children’s literature.
Astrid Lindgren was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays best known for several children’s book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, and the Six Bullerby Children (Children of Noisy Village in the US), and for the children’s fantasy novels Mio, My Son; Ronia the Robber’s Daughter; and The Brothers Lionheart.
On her passing in 2002, the Swedish government set up the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award to promote every child’s right to great stories. This global award is given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. With a prize of five million Swedish kronor, it is the largest award of its kind.
The only winners of the award with an African link have been Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA) and Jacqueline Woodson.
The laureate will be announced on 1 April, 2025.
Audrey Chirenje (pictured) is an award winning author of 10 books, with a NAMA nomination at the 2024 edition. The Managing Editor of Chances & Inspiration Inc, a publishing and marketing consultancy company she founded in 2021, she is also a qualified and seasoned marketer. The writer is currently co-host of the weekly book review on the ZTN channel since 2023.
Ignatius Mabasa is a award winning writer, storyteller, and musician, who writes mainly in Shona. Mabasa’s debut novel, the satirical Mapenzi (Fools), won first prize in the Zimbabwe Book Publishers’ Association Awards in 2000. His second novel Ndafa Here? (Am I Dead?) won the 2009 National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) Outstanding Fiction Book as did his novel Imbwa yemunhu (You Dog) in 2014.
