Hartnett wins kids’ book award

Australian author Sonya Hartnett is the winner of the $818,000 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature, the largest children’s book award in the world.

Hartnett, 39, published her first novel, “Trouble All the Way,” at age 15 and has written 18 novels for children, young people and adults since then.

“Sonya Hartnett is one of the major forces for renewal in modern young adult fiction,” the jury said. “With psychological depth and a concealed yet palpable anger, she depicts the circumstances of young people without avoiding the darker sides of life.”

The award from the Swedish Arts Council is named after Astrid Lindgren, author of the Pippi Longstocking stories.