Harry Potter author JK Rowling was yesterday presented with the inaugural Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize in Denmark yesterday.
She used the acceptance speech as a chance to give prospective children’s writing a serve. According to CBC news, Rowling told the crowd: “Andersen understood that writing for children does not mean ‘pureeing’ what one would have written for adults. It ought not to be bland or soppy or devoid of challenging ingredients.”
The prize is awarded, according to the Guardian to “a writer whose work can be compared to that of Andersen, suggesting that figures in Rowling’s own fiction such as Harry Potter, Hagrid, Dumbledore or Draco Malfoy are expected, by the judges at least, to have the enduring appeal of Andersen’s Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina or Little Mermaid.” The prize is valued at 500,000 Danish kroner (A$95,000).