Laurie Halse Anderson – laureate 2023 1
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Learn more about L
aurie Halse Anderson The following is an excerpt from our jury’s indepth presentation of Laurie Halse Anderson and her work, written by Boel Westin and Elina Druker. At alma.se/en you can read the full text. A survivor who refuses to be silenced. That is how Laurie Halse Anderson describes herself in her poetic memoir Shout (2019), and it is true for many of her main characters as well. In her richly expressive novels for young people—all narrated in the first person—Anderson gives voice to the adolescent experience with sometimes brutal honesty. Here is resignation, even desperation, but also a determination for change kept alive by the search for meaning, identity, and truth. Laurie Halse Anderson’s literary breakthrough came with the young adult novel Speak (1999). It’s a skilfully writ16 ten, informed depiction of how rape survivors experience stigmatization as a result of emotional and physical bullying. The title Speak is meant to be read as a call to action. Speak so that the world will listen: “speak up for yourself.” Like many of Anderson’s books, Speak it is frequently found on lists of banned books: books that, in some states or districts in the United States, are not allowed to be read in schools or bought by public libraries because of their subject matter or plot. One of the poems in Shout is about an