Chinese author Qin Wenjun [File Photo: the Oriental Morning Post]

Qin Wenjun, the author of reputed children's stories "Schoolboy Jia Li" and "Schoolgirl Jia Mei," has been nominated for the 2009 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Qin is the only Chinese writer among the 153 nominees from 60 nations, the Oriental Morning Post reports. The annual prizes of five million Swedish Krona (about 740,000 US dollars) are awarded to outstanding children's literature authors worldwide.

Qin Wenjun was born in Shanghai in 1954 and is the honorary editor-in-chief of Juvenile & Children's Publishing House, a member of the Association of Chinese Writers and vice chairman of the Shanghai Writers' Association.

She has published 50 works containing more than five million words since her debut on the literary scene in 1982.

But there are increasing numbers of competitors for the children's literature market. There are now more than 100 full-time children's literature writers in Shanghai alone, the author said.

Established by the Swedish government in 2002 in honor of the Swedish children's book author Astrid Lindgren, the Astrid Lindgren Award is devoted to increasing interest in children's and young adult literature and promoting children's rights to culture on a global level.

The 2009 award recipients will be announced in March.

(CRI September 25, 2008)