Malmo Main Library by Henning Larsen, Malmo, Sweden, interior
Littfest is Sweden’s largest literature festival and has been arranged in Umeå every March since 2007. It started as countermovement against the commercialization of the book industry and combines international and local content. There are carefully prepared seminars that follow the festival’s theme, artistic ambition, and the current social debate. The festival was initially run by several committed private individuals, and later took the form of a non-profit association. The main part of the festival takes place at Umeå Folkets Hus, with four parallel stages.
The Göteborg Book Fair is a manifestation of arts and culture. Established in 1985 as a conference for librarians, the fair now gathers about 85,000 teachers, librarians, and book lovers every year in autumn. Writers, scholars, Nobel Laureates, politicians, and thinkers from around the world appear in readings, talks and debates. The fair combines an extensive seminar program and many exhibitions with teaching materials, children’s books, comics, fiction, non-fiction and more. The focus of the Gothenburg Book Fair has always been on Nordic literature.
The Stockholm Writers Festival is a gathering of writers held over a weekend in August. Writers come together to find inspiration, develop expertise, and build networks that help bring their stories to the world. All writers are welcome regardless of genre, experience level or background. Each year, local and international teachers, industry experts, and literary agents are invited to the Swedish capital to share their experience and insights with the attendees.
Established in 2002 by the Swedish government, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award honors the memory of its namesake. The prize can be awarded to authors, illustrators, oral storytellers, and people or organizations all over the world who make reading accessible to children and young people. The prize is endowed with 5 million SEK.
Nobelpriset i Litteratur is one of the five Nobel prizes first mentioned in Alfred Nobel’s will, and is awarded by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Only certain institutions and individuals can make nominations such as the members of the Swedish Academy, members of academies and societies with similar tasks, professors of literary and linguistic subjects, former literary Nobel laureates, and chairmen of certain authors’ organizations. The chosen laureate will receive a prize of 10 million SEK at the Stockholm Concert Hall on Nobel Day.
Since 1989, the August Prize is awarded by the Swedish Publishers’ Association. It is named after the author and playwright August Stindberg and honors the best Swedish book of the year. Currently it is awarded in the categories Fiction, Non-fiction and Children’s book of the year. Winners receive 100,000 SEK and a bronze statuette created by the artist Michael Fare.
The international prize of the Kulturhuset Stadsteatern is awarded annually to an outstanding work of fiction in a commendable Swedish translation. It is a unique literary prize that rewards authors as well as translators. The prize amount, which is 150,000 SEK, is shared equally between authors and translators.
Established in 1970, De Nios översättarpris is a translation prize given by the Swedish literary society Samfundet De Nio. Samfundet De Nio is a literary academy with nine members elected for life. The Society’s awards aim to promote Swedish fiction with the intention of giving recognition to deserving authors and translators.
The Nature & Culture Foundation and the Swedish Writers’ Association’s prize for the best translated book of the year was established in 2019, and has been awarded since that year in a collaboration between the foundation Natur & Kultur and the Swedish Writers’ Association. The prize honors the work of translators and the winner receives 100,000 SEK.
Established in 1953, the Swedish Academy’s Award for Translators rewards excellent translations into the Swedish language. Through its prizes, the Swedish Academy honors scholarships, authors, critics, and translators in several categories. The Award for Translators is endowed with 60,000 SEK, mainly for works of fiction.
AIR Litteratur Västra Götaland is a residency program run by the Administration for Cultural Development. It is aimed at writers and translators from all over the world. The goal is to give space and time to artistic development by offering residencies in several locations in the Västra Götaland region. The literary residency program AIR Litteratur Västra Götaland was established in autumn 2015 and aims to strengthen the public discourse of the place and its literary scene.
The Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators (BCWT) was created in 1993 on the initiative of writers and translators in the Baltic Sea region and Scandinavia, and is located in Visby on the island of Gotland, almost in the middle of the Baltic sea. Authors and literary translators can apply for a residency and will be able to stay for three to five weeks. The BCWT welcomes applicants from all countries at any time, yet residency priority is to be given literary professionals from the countries in the Baltic Sea region and Scandinavia.
