Swedish Crown Princess Victoria presented the 5-million-kronor (621,000-dollar) Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for 2009 to a Palestinian institute that promotes reading on Tuesday, according to dpa. Representatives of the Tamer Institute for Community Education pledge at the ceremony in Stockholm to continue efforts to distribute books among Palestinian children. "This award is asserting that reading is one of the best healers of the scars of Palestinian children," the institute's director general Arham Al-Damen said. "We will keep on publishing and translating good books, and to promote reading everywhere in spite of difficulties," he told guests at the Stockholm Concert Hall. The Swedish government created the prize in 2002 to honour Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, whose numerous popular fictional characters include Pippi Longstocking. Tamer Institute that was founded in 1989 is the second reading promotion group to win the award that is considered one of the largest literary awards for children and young people. The group works in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Among those eligible for the prize are writers, illustrators of literature for children and young people and those who promote reading through work that reflects the spirit of the acclaimed Swedish author who died at age 94 in 2002. In all, 153 candidates from 60 countries, including some 30 institutions that promote reading, were nominated this year. The award was handed to Australian writer Sonya Hartnett last year and Venezuelan book bank Banco del Libro of Venezuela in 2007.
