Stockholm - More than 150 nominations have been made for the 2009 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, one of the largest literary awards for writers and illustrators of literature for children and young people, organizers said Monday.

The prize was created 2002 in honour of Lindgren, the Swedish creator of numerous popular fiction characters, including Pippi Longstocking, who died 2002 aged 94.

In all, 153 candidates from 60 countries, including some 30 institutions that promote reading, were nominated for the 830,000- dollars prize.

Jury chairman Larry Lempert said in a statement that he was "very pleased with the spreading interest and activity amongst the (106) expert groups" that had helped put forward the nominees.

Past winners include Japanese illustrator Ryoji Arai and British author Philip Pullman, who shared the award in 2005.

Australian writer Sonya Hartnett won the 2008 award. The 2009 winner is due to be announced in March. (dpa)