Australian author Sonya Hartnett is the newest recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. The world’s most valuable children’s and youth literary award, worth $880,000. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was created by the Swedish government in 2002 in honor of the Swedish writer, who popularized several fictional characters including Pippi Longstocking. Hartnett will receive her award during a ceremony on May 28, when Swedish Crown Princess Victoria will present the prize money.

Hartnett was nominated last year as well, but was not chosen in the end. “I really don’t know why they chose me except that I guess that my work is a little different, and…no holds barred…Whether they thought that’s worth acknowledging, I don’t know. Whatever they thought, I’m glad they thought it,” she told the Australian. 

Hartnett’s modesty aside, the award’s jury described Hartnett as “one of the major forces for renewal in modern young adult fiction… With psychological depth and a concealed yet palpable anger, she depicts the circumstances of young people without avoiding the darker sides of life… She does so with linguistic virtuosity and a brilliant narrative technique; her works are a source of strength.”