Young adult author Jacqueline Woodson has been awarded the prestigious Astrid Lindgren grant.

According to the BBC, the 55-year-old will be awarded five million Swedish krona ($600,000 in American dollars) during a ceremony in Stockholm in May. The grant was named after the author of the beloved Pippi Longstocking series.

Woodson is the author of Brown Girl Dreaming, a memoir of her childhood experiences growing up during the height of the Civil Rights Era. Woodson is an accomplished writer of young adult books and has used her work to tackle several sensitive subjects including teen pregnancy and drug addiction.

Woodson was delighted at the news and tweeted that it was “awesome.”

“Jacqueline Woodson introduces us to resilient young people fighting to find a place where their lives can take root. In language as light as air, she tells stories of resounding richness and depth,” said the Lindgren jury of her work. "[She] captures a unique poetic note in a daily reality divided between sorrow and hope."

Woodson was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress in January.

Books by Black authorsJacqueline Woodson