The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sw ...

, 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,

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, 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

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committee appointed by the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...

. The committee consists of ten members, two each from

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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 Bot ...

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 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

and

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. 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

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, the

Faroe Island The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betwee ...

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 ...

or the

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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 Ane or ane may refer to: * Āne, a village in Latvia * Ane, Netherlands, a village in Overijssel, Netherlands, also ** Battle of Ane (1227), a battle fought near the village * -ane, a suffix in organic chemistry, or specifically ** Alkanes, which ...

, vice chair (Norway) * Amanda Svensson (Sweden) * Elisabeth Friis (Denmark) * Henrika Ringbom (Finland) *

Kristiina Lähde Kristiina is an Estonian and Finnish feminine given name. It is a cognate of the English and French given name Christine. Tiina is often used as a diminutive of Kristiina. People named Kristiina include: * Kristiina Brask (born 1990), Finnish p ...

(Finland) *

Kristján Jóhann Jónsson Kristján is an Icelandic masculine given name. The Icelandic surname Kristjánsson is a patronymic surname meaning ''son of Kristján''. Kristjánsdóttir is a patronymic surname meaning ''daughter of Kristján''. Notable people Kristján with ...

(Iceland) *

Lise Vandborg Lise may refer to: People *Eliseo Nicolás Alonso (known as Lise; 1955–2012), Spanish woodcarver and sculptor *Claude Lise (born 1941), French politician from Martinique Given name Lise is a variant of the given name Lisa *Lise de Baissac, Maur ...

(Denmark) *

Rune Christiansen Rune Christiansen (born 10 April 1963 in Bergen) is a Norway, Norwegian poem, poet and novelist. He is a professor of creative writing at Telemark University College. He won the Brage Prize in 2014 and the Gyldendal lifetime award in 2015. Rune C ...

(Norway) *

Sara Abdollahi Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

(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