- Title: ARGENTINA: Argentina's Isol wins world's top prize for children's book
- Date: 26th March 2013
- Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (MARCH 26, 2013) (REUTERS) CLOSE-UP OF PENCILS AND PENCIL CRAYONS ARGENTINE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR MARISOL MISENTA "ISOL", WORKING AT HER DESK VARIOUS OF ISOL DRAWING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CHILDREN'S AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR ISOL, SAYING: "At first they called me from Bologna, the people from my publisher, saying that they had a lot of publishers - many Swedish - that wanted to publish the works there and in many other countries and that they were going to propose a ton of offers to choose from. This means that the books are going to be more well-known, they are going to be translated more. What's more, they are endorsing the work and saying 'this author is worth it'. So this always gives liberty and importance to what one does." VARIOUS OF ISOL WORKING ISOL SHOWING HER BOOKS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CHILDREN'S AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR ISOL, SAYING: "We were all children once and in some way there are certain themes that unite everyone as human beings. I work with themes that interest me as well. Today what happens is I put myself in a child's shoes as the narrator in order to see things from a different and non-judgmental perspective to be able to think about things again, like someone who has just landed on the planet and sees things and asks questions for the first time." VARIOUS OF CLOSE-UP OF BOOKS BY ISOL
- Embargoed: 10th April 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Argentina
- Country: Argentina
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVALXXFCG3XWOXYGJ4HE2PHOF5E
- Story Text: Argentine writer and illustrator, Isol, wins the coveted Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's literature.
Argentine author and illustrator Isol won the world's biggest prize for children's literature on Tuesday (March 26) with the jury for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award praising her ability to expose the absurdities of the adult world to children.
From her home in Buenos Aires the author, whose real name is Marisol Misenta, explained how news of her win had travelled quickly in the publishing world.
"At first they called me from Bologna, the people from my publisher, saying that they had a lot of publishers - many Swedish - that wanted to publish the works there and in many other countries and that they were going to propose a ton of offers to choose from. This means that the books are going to be more well-known, they are going to be translated more. What's more, they are endorsing the work and saying 'this author is worth it'. So this always gives liberty and importance to what one does," said Isol.
The jury for the 5 million Swedish crown ($770,000) prize created by the Swedish government in 2002 said the talented author created picture books from the "eye-level of the child".
Isol echoed this view and put her success down to being able to look at issues from a different perspective.
"We were all children once and in some way there are certain themes that unite everyone as human beings. I work with themes that interest me as well. Today what happens is I put myself in a child's shoes as the narrator in order to see things from a different and non-judgmental perspective to be able to think about things again, like someone who has just landed on the planet and sees things and asks questions for the first time," she added.
Isol, who has written and illustrated 10 books of her own as well as other writers' books, was born in 1972 in Buenos Aires and also works as a singer and a composer.
Her first book, "A dog's life", was published in 1997 and her books have now been published in about 20 countries.
Sweden's Astrid Lindgren, one of the world's most widely translated writers, is best known for her Pippi Longstocking books about the adventures of Pippi, her horse, monkey and friends Tommy and Annika. The prize was set up after she died in 2002. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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