First, journalist Kris Boswell wanted Larry Lempert to comment the huge amount of nominees for next year’s award:

– This means that the jury’s work becomes much more difficult but also very much more exciting.

Do the candidates for 2012 in any way differ from the previous nominees?

– This year we have storytellers which we have not had before. Up to this date, the award has not been given to any storyteller but authors, illustrators and organisations active in reading promotion.

What does this storytelling trend represent?

– We are very book-oriented in Western Europe, while the storytelling tradition has been very widespread historically in Western Europe and especially in other parts of the world. Now, these candidates come forward. We must show respect and listen to the stories and consider how they stand in relation to the other award categories.

– On the whole, I think one wants to draw attention to storytelling. We must listen to each other. We must listen to each other’s stories. It’s a way to get to know each other. It’s a way of understanding the world. So for me, the oral storytelling is as exciting as the written stories.

The whole interview is available (in Swedish) here.