Author Meg Rosoff receives Sweden´s ALMA prize in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM: London-based writer Meg Rosoff received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA), a top prize for children and young adult literature, at a ceremony in Stockholm on Monday night.

U.S. -born Rosoff was given the 5 million Swedish krona ($600,333) prize for her young adult novels that "speak to the emotions as well as the intellect".

The award is named after the Swedish writer best known for her Pippi Longstocking books.

"Astrid Lindgren reminds us those it´s children who will take over the running of the world," Rosoff said in her acceptance speech.

"So there is nothing more important than how we talk to them, how we teach them, what values they learn, what books they read, what sort of future they can imagine.

"Rosoff´s first young adult novel "How I Live Now" was published in 2004. ($1 = 8.3287 Swedish crowns)