Swedish fan Amelia Andersdotter has been permitted to take her seat representing Sweden in the EU Parliament. Andersdotter was elected to Parliament in 2009 representing the Swedish Pirate Party, but owing to internal EU red tape only now been able to claim her seat.
The winners of the 2011 Fantasiknovelltävlingen (Fantastic Short Story Competition) were announced. The Fantasiknovelltävlingen has been running in Sweden since 2000 and is sponsored by SKRIVA, a writer’s list. First prize receives €100, with second prize receiving €50 and third receiving €30. Case prizes were donated by Novellmästarna. For the first time, all three prizes were won by women.
Shaun Tan has been announced as the recipient of the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children’s literature. The award, which comes with a 5 million kroner prize (approximately $800,000), is given for Tan’s body of work in children’s literature to this date, which includes The Rabbits, The Lost Thing, The Red Tree, The Arrival, and Tales from Outer Suburbia. Earlier this year, Tan won an Oscar for the film adaptation of The Lost Thing and last year he was the Worldcon Artist Guest of Honor.
Artist Hans Arnold (b.1925) died on October 25. Arnold was born in Switzerland and moved to Sweden in 1947. Throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s, he provided illustrations for various short fiction magazines. Mostly known for his horror illustrations, Arnold helped found the Swedish Horror Academy.