Swedish literary prizes 2025

Founded by the Swedish Publishers’ Association in 1989, Augustpriset (named after Swedish author August Strindberg) is one of Sweden’s most prestigious literary prizes. It is awarded in three categories: Best Swedish Fiction Book of the Year, Best Swedish Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and Best Swedish Children’s Book of the Year. Nominees are selected by a jury for each category, after which reader groups consisting of booksellers, librarians and critics elect the winners.

Every year, Sveriges Författarförbund awards four literary prizes: Katapultpriset, for the year’s best Swedish fiction debut; Slangbellan, for the year’s best debut in literature for children and young adults; Translation of the Year; and the Elsa Thulin Prize for outstanding achievement in translation. All of the winners and nominees are selected by a jury for each of the union's divisions. Katapultpriset and Slangbellan both aim to bring new works into the spotlight, and to support emerging voices in literature.

Borås Tidnings Debutantpris is one of Sweden's most important prizes for literary debutants, created by newspaper Borås Tidning to promote and nurture exciting new voices in literature. The winner is selected by a jury.

Svenska Deckarakademin is a Swedish organization set up in 1971 to promote the writing of detective fiction and crime fiction. As part of its activities, the 24 elected academy members award annual prizes for best Swedish crime novel and best crime novel in translation, among other special prizes.

The Nordic Council awards a number of annual culture prizes in celebration of the Nordic cultural community. This includes two literary prizes, The Nordic Council Literature Prize, and The Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize. The prizes are nominated by national members of the adjudicating committee, and are awarded to works of fiction written in one of the Nordic languages.

We have highlighted the Swedish-language nominees here, but the Nordic Council's website offers plenty of information on current and past nominees and winners in every language.

Sveriges Radio awards annual literary prizes for best novel, poetry, best short story and best children's book. The novel and children's book prizes are somewhat unique in Sweden, as they are selected by juries consisting of readers and book groups, rather than critics or booksellers.

Svenska Yle is the Swedish-language branch of Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Its literary prize is awarded each year to the best Finland-Swedish book. As of 2023, nominees are selected by the culture section of Svenska Yle. These are then voted for by a reader jury of four people, with a fifth vote representing that of the general public.