The August Prize (Swedish: Augustpriset) is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers' Association. The prize is awarded to the best Swedish book of the year, in three categories. The Swedish Publishers' Association also awards the Young August Prize (Lilla Augustpriset) to youth and young adults (until the age of 20).
Prize
In the years 1989–1992, the prize was awarded in one general category. Since 1992, the prize has been awarded in the categories Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Children's and Youth Literature.[1] The prize is named after the writer August Strindberg.[2]
Selection
All Swedish publishers may submit nominations for the award. In each category, a jury shortlists six titles each. These titles are then read and voted on by an assembly of 63 electors, 21 in each category. The electors come from across the country, and comprise booksellers, librarians and literary critics. The books receiving the largest number of votes in each category win the prize.[3][4]
The prizes are handed out at a gala in Stockholm. Winners receive 100,000 Swedish krona and a bronze statuette by the artist Michael Fare.[3]
Björn Runeborg [sv], En tid i Visby (lit. 'A Time in Visby') (Bonnier Alba)
Fredrik Ekelund [sv], Jag vill ha hela världen! (lit. 'I Want the Whole World!') (Bonniers)
Sara Lidman, Lifsens rot (lit. 'The Root of Life')
(Bonniers)
Lars Gustafsson, Variationer över ett tema av Silfverstolpe (lit. 'Variations on the Theme of Silfverstolpe') (Natur & Kultur)
Jesper Svenbro, Vid budet att Santo Bambino di Aracoeli slutligen stulits av maffian (lit. 'At the News that the Santo Bambino di Aracoeli has Finally Been Stolen by the Mafia') (Bonniers)
Den vidunderliga kärlekens historia (lit. 'The Story of Monstrous Love') (trans. The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot)
Albert Bonniers Förlag
Lars Andersson, Berget (lit. 'The Mountain') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Aris Fioretos, Den siste greken (lit. 'The Last Greek') (Norstedts)
Ann Jäderlund, Vad hjälper det en människa om hon häller rent vatten över sig i alla sina dagar (lit. 'What Good is it to a Person if She Pours Clean Water on Herself All Her Days') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Spåren av kungens män (lit. 'Traces of the King's Men')
Prisma
Göran Rosenberg, Det förlorade landet (lit. 'The Lost Land') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Ronny Ambjörnsson [sv], Mitt förnamn är Ronny (lit. 'My First Name Is Ronny') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Martin Tjernberg [sv] & Richard Fredriksson, Upplands fåglar – fåglar, människor och landskap genom 300 år (lit. 'Uppland's birds – birds, people and landscapes over 300 years') (Upplands Ornitologiska Förening)
Astrid Trotzig [sv], Blod är tjockare än vatten (lit. 'Blood Is Thicker Than Water') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Peter Englund, Brev från nollpunkten (lit. 'Letter from Ground Zero') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Gustav Vasa – landsfader eller tyrann? (lit. 'Gustav Vasa – Father of the Country or Tyrant?')
Prisma
Vivi Edström [sv], Selma Lagerlöf. Livets vågspel (lit. 'Selma Lagerlöf. The Gamble of Life') (Natur & Kultur)
Maaret Koskinen [sv], I begynnelsen var ordet. Ingmar Bergman och han tidiga författarskap (lit. 'In the Beginning Was the Word. Ingmar Bergman and His Early Writings') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Nathan Shachar [sv], Till jaguarernas land. Essäer om regnskog, politik och människor i Latinamerika (lit. 'To the Land of the Jaguars. Essays on Rainforests, Politics and People in Latin America') (Bokförlaget Atlantis)
Katarina Wennstam, Flickan och skulden. En bok om samhällets syn på våldtäkt (lit. 'The Girl and the Guilt. A Book about Society's Views on Rape') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Ingela Broström, Tradition i trä. En resa genom Sverige (lit. 'Tradition in Wood. A Journey through Sweden') (Byggförlaget)
Eva Adolfsson [sv], Hör, jag talar! Essäer om litteraturens skäl (lit. Listen, I'm Talking! Essays on the Reasons for Literature) (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Per Gedin, Litteraturens örtagårdsmästare. Karl Otto Bonnier och hans tid (lit. 'The Herb Garden Master of Literature. Karl Otto Bonnier and His Time') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Lena Katarina Swanberg [sv], Blod svett och tårar (lit. 'Blood, Sweat and Tears') (Bokförlaget DN)
Bengt Jangfeldt [sv], En osalig ande. Berättelsen om Axel Munthe (lit. 'An Unhappy Spirit. The Story of Axel Munthe') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Europas idéhistoria 1492–1918: Världens ordning och Mörkret i människan (lit. 'History of Europe's Ideas 1492–1918:The Order of the World and the Darkness in Man')
Lena Israelsson [sv], Klosterträdgårdar (lit. 'Monastery Gardens') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Lisbeth Larsson, Hennes döda kropp. Victoria Benedictssons arkiv och författarskap (lit. 'Her Dead Body. Victoria Benedictsson's Archive and Authorship') (Weyler Förlag)
Zac O'Yeah [sv], Mahatma! Eller konsten att vända världen upp och ner (lit. 'Mahatma! Or the Art of Turning the World Upside Down') (Ordfront förlag)
Kjell Östberg [sv], I takt med tiden. Olof Palme 1927–1969 (lit. 'In Step with the Times. Olof Palme 1927–1969') (Leopard Förlag)
Karin Johannisson, Melankoliska rum (lit. 'Melancholic Rooms') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Johan Svedjedal [sv], Frihetens rena sak (lit. 'The Pure Thing of Freedom') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Laila Reppen, Lars Nordling & Cecilia Björk [sv], Så byggdes villan – Svensk villaarkitektur från 1890 till 2010 (lit. 'This is How the Villa Was Made – Swedish Villa Architecture from 1890 to 2010') (Forskningsrådet Formas)
Lena Sundström, Världens lyckligaste folk (lit. 'The Happiest People in the World') (Leopard Förlag)
Elisabeth Åsbrink, Smärtpunkten (lit. 'The Pain Point') (Natur & Kultur)
Henrik Ekman, Vargen – den jagade jägaren (lit. 'The Wolf – The Hunted Hunter') (Norstedts)
Magnus Linton [sv], Cocaina. En bok om dom som gör det (lit. 'Cocaine. A Book about Those Who Do It') (Bokförlaget Atlas)
Tina Thunander [sv], Resa i Sharialand. Ett reportage om kvinnors liv i Saudiarabien (lit. 'Travel in Sharialand. A Report on Women's Lives in Saudi Arabia') (Leopard Förlag)
Kristoffer Leandoer [sv], Mask – litteraturen som gömställe (lit. 'Mask – Literature as a Hiding Place') (Pequod Press)
Moa Matthis, Maria Eleonora. Drottningen som sa nej (lit. 'Maria Eleonora. The Queen Who Said No') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Och i Wienerwald står träden kvar (lit. 'And in Wienerwald the Trees Remain')
Natur & Kultur
Lennart Pehrson [sv], Ni har klockorna – vi har tiden. USA tio år efter 11 september (lit. 'You Have the Clocks – We Have the Time. United States Ten Years After 9/11') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Johan Svedjedal [sv], Spektrum. Den svenska drömmen. Tidskrift och förlag i 1930-talets kultur (lit. 'Spectrum. The Swedish dream. Magazine and Publisher in 1930s Culture') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Lasse Berg [sv], Skymningssång i Kalahari. Hur människan bytte tillvaro (lit. 'Twilight Song in the Kalahari. How Humans Changed Life') (Ordfront förlag)
Christel Kvant, Trädets tid (lit. 'The Time of the Tree') (Norstedts)
Magnus Bärtås [sv] & Fredrik Ekman [sv], Alla monster måste dö. Gruppresa till Nordkorea: Ett reportage (lit. 'All Monsters Must Gie. Group Trip to North Korea: A Report') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Det står ett rum här och väntar på dig – Berättelsen om Raoul Wallenberg (lit. 'There's a Room Waiting for You – The Story of Raoul Wallenberg')
Norstedts
Monica Lauritzen [sv], Sanningens vägar. Anne Charlotte Lefflers liv och dikt (lit. 'The Ways of Truth. Anne Charlotte Leffler's Life and Poems') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Katrine Kielos, Det enda könet. Varför du är förförd av den ekonomiske mannen och hur det förstör ditt liv och världsekonomin (lit. 'The Only Gender. Why You Are Seduced by the Economic Man and How it Destroys Your Life and the World Economy') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
James Dobreff, Arne Jönsson, & Helene Schmitz, Ur regnskogens skugga. Daniel Rolander och resan till Surinam (lit. 'From the shadow of the rainforest. Daniel Rolander and the trip to Suriname') (Bokförlaget Max Ström)
Martin Gelin [sv], Den amerikanska högern. Republikanernas revolution och USA:s framtid (lit. 'The American Right. The Republican Revolution and the Future of the United States') (Natur & Kultur)
Zlatan Ibrahimović & David Lagercrantz, Jag är Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Min historia (lit. 'I am Zlatan Ibrahimović. My story') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Per Wästerberg, Erik och Margot. En kärlekshistoria (lit. 'Erik and Margot. A Love Story') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Håkan Håkansson, Vid tidens ände. Om stormaktstidens vidunderliga drömvärld och en profet vid dess yttersta rand (lit. 'At the End of Time. About the Wonderful Dream World of the Great Power era and a Prophet at its Outer Edge') (Medströms Bokförlag)
Tina Thunander [sv], Doktor Nasser har ingen bil. Kairo i omvälvningens tid (lit. 'Dr. Nasser Has No Car. Cairo in the Time of Upheaval') (Leopard Förlag)
Anders Rydell [sv], Plundrarna. Hur nazisterna stal Europas konstskatter (lit. 'The Looters. How the Nazis Stole Europe's Art Treasures') (Ordfront förlag)
Anna Charlotta Gunnarson [sv], Popmusik rimmar på politik (lit. 'Pop Music Rhymes with Politics') (Bokförlaget Atlas)
Min europeiska familj. De senaste 54 000 åren (lit. 'My European Family. The Last 54,000 Years')
Albert Bonniers Förlag
Karin Johannisson, Den sårade divan (lit. 'The Wounded Diva') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Johan Hilton, Monster i garderoben. En bok om Anthony Perkins och tiden som skapade Norman Bates (lit. 'Monsters in the Wardrobe. A Book about Anthony Perkins and the Time that Created Norman Bates') (Natur & Kultur)
Lennart Pehrson [sv], Den nya staden. Utvandringen till Amerika II (lit. 'The New City. Emigration to America II') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Maja Hagerman, Käraste Herman. Rasbiologen Herman Lundborgs gåta (lit. 'Dearest Herman. The Race Biologist Herman Lundborg's Mystery') (Norstedts)
Magnus Linton [sv], Knark. En svensk historia (lit. 'Dope. A Swedish History') (Bokförlaget Atlas)
Gutenberggalaxens nova. En essäberättelse om Erasmus av Rotterdam, humanismen och 1500-talets medierevolution (lit. 'The Gutenberg Galaxy's Nova. An essay on Erasmus of Rotterdam, Humanism and the 16th-century Media Revolution')
Niklas Orrenius [sv], Skotten i Köpenhamn. Ett reportage om Lars Vilks, extremism och yttrandefrihetens gränser (lit. 'The Shots in Copenhagen. A Report on Lars Vilks, Extremism and the Limits of Freedom of Expression') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson [sv], Glömskans bibliotek. En essä om demens, vansinne och litteratur (lit. 'The Library of Oblivion. An Essay on Dementia, Insanity and Literature') (Norstedts)
Felix Heintzenberg [sv] & Ole Jørgen Liodden, Arktis. Liv i en värld av is och snö (lit. 'The Arctic. Life in a World of Ice and Snow') (Bio & Fokus Förlag)
Johan Svedjedal [sv], Den nya dagen gryr. Karin Boyes författarliv (lit. 'The New Day Dawns. Karin Boye's Life as an Author') (Wahlström & Widstrand)
Per Wirtén [sv], Är vi framme snart? Drömmen om Europas förenta stater, (lit. 'Are We There Soon? The Dream of the United States of Europe') (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Martin Gelin [sv] & Karin Pettersson, Internet är trasigt. Silicon Valley och demokratins kris (lit. 'The Internet Is Broken. Silicon Valley and the Crisis of Democracy') (Natur & Kultur)
Jens Liljestrand [sv], Mannen i skogen. En biografi över Vilhelm Moberg (lit. 'The Man in the Woods. A Biography of Vilhelm Moberg') (Albert Bonniers förlag)
Alexandra Borg & Nina Ulmaja [sv], Strindbergs lilla röda. Boken om boken och typerna (lit. 'Strindberg's Little Red. The Book about the Book and the Types') (Atlantis)
Peter Handberg [sv], Världens yttersta platser. Judiska spår (lit. 'The Outermost Places in the World. Jewish Traces') (Bokförlaget Faethon)
Lotte Möller [sv], Bin och människor. Om bin och biskötare i religion, revolution och evolution samt många andra bisaker (lit. 'Bees and Humans. About Bees and Beekeepers in Religion, Revolution and Evolution and Many Other Side Effects') (Norstedts)
Anna-Karin Palm, Jag vill sätta världen i rörelse. En biografi över Selma Lagerlöf (lit. 'I Want To Set the World in Motion. A Biography of Selma Lagerlöf') (Albert Bonniers förlag)
Kristoffer Leandoer [sv], Längta hem, längta bort. En essä om litteratur på flykt (lit. 'Longing for Home, Longing Away. An Essay on Literature on the Run') (Natur & Kultur)
Jan Malmborg, Trubbel. Berättelsen om Olle Adolphson (lit. 'Trouble. The Story of Olle Adolphson') (Albert Bonniers förlag)
Arash Sanari, Sverigevänner. Historien om hur pappa och jag försökte bli svenskast på Tjörn (lit. 'Sweden Friends. The Story of How Dad and I Tried to be the Most Swedish on Tjörn') (Volante)
Dolda gudar – en bok om allt som inte går förlorat i en översättning[j] (lit. 'Hidden Gods. A Book about Everything that is not Lost in a Translation')
Norstedts
Sara Martinsson, Knäböj (lit. 'Squat') (Weyler Förlag)
Carl Henrik Carlsson, Judarnas historia i Sverige (lit. 'History of the Jews in Sweden') (Natur & Kultur)
Anders Cullhed [sv], Dante: Den förste författaren (lit. 'Dante: The First Author') (Natur & Kultur)
Anneli Rogeman [sv], Mönstersamhället (lit. 'The Model Society' (Natur & Kultur)
Henrik Berggren [sv], Landet utanför Sverige och kriget 1943-1945 (lit. The country outside Sweden and the war 1943-1945) (Norstedts)
Eva Ekselius [sv], Vakna, mitt folk! Det judiska Europa mellan den franska revolutionen och den ryska (lit. Wake up, my people! Jewish Europe between the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution) (Volante)
Knut Kainz Rognerud [sv], Sundsvallsoligarken En berättelse om hur Ryssland lurade väst (lit. The Sundsvall oligarch A story about how Russia tricked the West) (Mondial)
Anna Lihammer [sv] and Ted Hesselbom [sv], Vikingatider När världen öppnades (lit. Viking times When the world opened up) (Historiska Media)
Lisa dos Santos [sv], Älskade bror En rapport från gängvåldets Sverige (lit. Beloved Brother A report from gang violence in Sweden) (Bokförlaget Forum)
^"Augustpriset 2017". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Retrieved 22 November 2021.
^"Augustpriset 2018". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Retrieved 22 November 2021.
^"Augustpriset 2019". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Retrieved 22 November 2021.
^"Augustpriset 2020". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
^ ab"Augustpriset 2021". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Retrieved 22 November 2021.
^ ab"Augustpriset 2022". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^ ab"Augustpriset 2023". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^"Augustpriset 2019". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
^"Augustpriset 2020". The August Prizes (augustpriset.se). Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
Notes
^"With an original and fate-saturated dramaturgy, Johannes Anyuru depicts the chain of events where the fabric of society in a contemporary and future Sweden breaks down and leaves open to terror and repression. With poetic delay, the individual vulnerability is embodied in a world with shrinking life prospects and a provocative wonder about the effect of human actions.."[5]
^"In Linnea Axelsson's poetic fragments, another side of the emerging twentieth century is depicted. The loss of the Sami aednan's rhythm of life is captured in two family stories where generations' repressed belonging to language and nature has left existential tears."[6]
^"With unfailing feeling and respect, Marit Kapla creates an entire universe of her literary reportage about Osebol. Individuals' testimonies become lyrical songs where different voices are interspersed. The talk about the place reflects both painful change and uncertain future. The fate of sparsely populated areas and the world is shaped by life in a Värmland village."[7]
^"Lydia Sandgren builds and populates her own literary universe filled with living details. Gothenburg, with black clubs, sunkhak and university libraries, becomes the scene of a triangle drama where the missing Cecilia is the black hole around which the novel characters gravitate. Collected works are a declaration of love for literature."[8]
^"In her literary imagination, Elin Cullhed lets the reader get really close to the creative, living person Sylvia Plath. Life-affirming and furious prose depicts how a poetic genius wrestles with a housewife existence where dreams and desperation give birth to each other. With Euphoria , an author icon takes its place in our time – in the beating heart of the text, the reader also sees himself."[9]
^"In Detaljerna, an incandescent fever becomes a portal to the past and the relationships that once meant everything - in a life that no longer exists. With melancholy, precision and low-key humor, Ia Genberg writes the shards that create a human being, and lets her voice sound with unmistakable timbre. In the precise feeling for the small details, a whole world comes alive."[10]
^"In a perfect balance between light-heartedness and sadness, Andrev Walden depicts a boy's attempt to grasp an existence where fathers are constantly being replaced. Jävla karlar is a humorous confrontation with a different childhood, which, despite the blackness throughout, is portrayed with an inexhaustible warmth and presence."[11]
^"A dizzying story with philosophical and existential signs about the extinction of the endangered eel and its place among humans and myths that take the reader out into deep water, both literally and figuratively. Patrik Svensson lets us follow the eel from the Sargasso Sea, via a smorgasbord right into his soul where, thanks to his father, it has been given a very special place. Because it is also a story about a father and son, and how the love for the eel tied them together in an often wordless relationship."[12]
^"Elin Anna Labba describes reindeer skins as "so soft that it feels like the hand should melt when you iron them". With the same quiet poetic power in the language, she makes visible Sweden's forced relocations of the Sami, forced relocations that have divided ancient family ties, networks and relocation routes. By also weaving in testimonials, archive photographs, maps, yoiks and government papers, she sheds new light on a dark part of Sweden's history in this very beautifully designed book."[13]
^"Fyodor Dostoevsky, Jane Austen, Karl Marx and Toni Morrison all have in common that they have been translated from other languages into Swedish. It also has Harlequin books and the Bible. In Hidden Gods, Nils Håkanson takes us on a dizzying tour of the translation landscape and puts the translator at the center. With finesse, humor and an infectious interest in language and style, he shows how the view of translation and the role of the translator has changed throughout history, but that one thing is constant – translation is an indispensable part of the text's path to the reader, purely its own form of literature."[9]
^"Maja Ekelöf, a cleaning lady and single mother of five, made a name for herself with her 1970 diary Rapport från en skurhink ("Report from a Scrub Bucket"). Nina van den Brink skillfully weaves together Maja Ekelöf - cleaning lady, acclaimed author, abortion advocate, and left-wing activist - with stories of cleaning ladies in her own family. The close descriptions of each task and its effect on the body are almost poetic. The book is as much a powerful portrait of one of Sweden's most poignant writers as it is a reckoning with the welfare state that did not benefit everyone."[10]
^"There is much more to Anders Zorn than the myth of his valley hills and eternal space. In Per Svensson's biography, we get a full portrait of the miracle painter and modern entrepreneur with his outstanding ability to network in the right circles, charge money, and look ahead. But neither his art nor his health could withstand so much success and so much partying. Per Svensson paints a nuanced picture, placing the world-renowned artist's life in time and space, depicting the road to fame and the end when Zorn's artistic drive was consumed."[11]