The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth 350,000 Danish kroner (2008). Eligible works are typically novels, plays, collections of poetry, short stories or essays, or other works that were published for the first time during the last four years, or in the case of works written in

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, or

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, within the last two years. The prize is one of the most prestigious awards that Nordic authors can win. The winner is chosen by an

adjudication Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the p ...

committee appointed by the Nordic Council. The committee consists of ten members, two each from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and Sweden. The committee members are generally experts in their own country's literature, as well as their neighbouring countries. In addition to the regular members, additional members may be added to the committee if works are nominated from

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

, the Faroe Islands,

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

or the

Sami language Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

area. Apart from the monetary award, the intent of the prize is also to "increase interest in the literature of neighbouring countries as well in Nordic cultural fellowship".

Committee members as of 2019

As of 2019 the jury consists of the following proper elected members * Sunna Dís Másdóttir, chair (Iceland) * Ane Farsethås, vice chair (Norway) *

Amanda Svensson Amanda Sofia Svensson (born 5 June 1987 in Arlöv) is a Swedish author. She is the daughter of journalist Per Svensson and his wife Ann-Sofie Svensson, she grew up in Malmö. She started writing at a young age and at seventeen she reached the fina ...

(Sweden) * Elisabeth Friis (Denmark) * Henrika Ringbom (Finland) * Kristiina Lähde (Finland) * Kristján Jóhann Jónsson (Iceland) * Lise Vandborg (Denmark) * Rune Christiansen (Norway) * Sara Abdollahi (Sweden) Additionally the jury includes deputy members, appointed members and ex officio members.

List of winners

Sofia Oksanen, vinnare av Nordiska radets litteraturpris 2010

The following is a complete list of recipients of the Nordic Council Literature Prize:

References

External links

Official website
{{The Nordic Council's Literature Prize Nordic Council prizes Danish literary awards Nordic literary awards Awards established in 1962