Bestselling Chilean-American author Isabel Allende is to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Fpreedom by Barack Obama at a White House ceremony on 24 November. Allende is one of 19 individuals chosen for their “especially meritorious contributions” to American life.
Allende has sold 65m copies of her 21 books in 35 languages, the White House has announced. The author of novels including the family saga The House of the Spirits, Daughter of Fortune and Portrait, she has also written four volumes of memoir, a collection of stories and a series of children’s novels. Allende, the White House noted in its announcement, has already received many awards, including Chile’s National prize for literature and she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004.
Other recipients of this year’s award include actor Meryl Streep, composer Stephen Sondheim, economist Robert Solow and physicist Mildred Dresselhaus. The White House said the medals go to “individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors”. Previous literary recipients include Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou.
“I look forward to presenting these 19 bold, inspiring Americans with our nation’s highest civilian honour,” Obama said in the announcement. “From activists who fought for change to artists who explored the furthest reaches of our imagination; from scientists who kept America on the cutting edge to public servants who help write new chapters in our American story, these citizens have made extraordinary contributions to our country and the world.”
Allende wrote on Twitter that she was “honoured to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom”, adding: “Obama himself will present it!” She tweeted a photograph of herself with the US president.
I am honored to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Obama himself will present it! http://t.co/p44yLDpIJB pic.twitter.com/oq8vHxxjlV
— Isabel Allende (@isabelallende) November 11, 2014
