The August Prize () is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publishers' Association. It is awarded to the best Swedish book of the year in each of three categories. The Swedish Publishers' Association also awards the Young August Prize (Lilla Augustpriset) to youth and young adults (age 20 or younger).
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. The prize is named after the writer August Strindberg.The sculpture was made by Swedish artist Mikael Fare.
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.
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.
Winners and nominees
Best book (1989–1991) YearWinnerWorkShortlisted nominees1989 Cecilia Lindqvist (1932–2021)Tecknens rike (lit. 'The Empire of Signs')Bonniers1990Lars Ahlin (1915–1997)De sotarna! De sotarna! (lit. 'The Chimney Sweepers! The Chimney Sweepers!')Bonniers1991Sven Delblanc (1931–1992)Livets ax (lit. 'Ear of Life')Bonniers
Fiction YearWinnerWorkShortlisted nominees1992Niklas Rådström (b. 1953)Medan tiden tänker på annat (lit. 'When Time Thinks About Other Things')Gedins1993Kerstin Ekman (b. 1933)Händelser vid vatten (lit. 'Events by Water') (trans. Blackwater)Bonniers1994Björn Ranelid (b. 1949)Synden (lit. 'The Sin')Bonnier Alba1995Torgny Lindgren (1938–2017)Hummelhonung (lit. 'Bumblebee Honey') (trans. Sweetness)Norstedts1996Tomas Tranströmer (1931–2015)Sorgegondolen (lit. 'The Sorrow Gondola')Bonniers1997Majgull Axelsson (b. 1947)Aprilhäxan (lit. 'April Witch')Gedins1998Göran Tunström (1937–2000)Berömda män som varit i Sunne (lit. 'Famous Men Who Have Visited Sunne')Albert Bonniers förlag1999Per Olov Enquist (1934–2020)Livläkarens besök (lit. 'The Visit of the Royal Physician')Norstedts2000Mikael Niemi (b. 1951)Populärmusik från Vittula (lit. 'Popular Music from Vittula')Norstedts2001Torbjörn Flygt (b. 1964)UnderdogNorstedts2002Carl-Johan Vallgren (b. 1964)Den vidunderliga kärlekens historia (lit. 'The Story of Monstrous Love') (trans. The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot)Albert Bonniers Förlag2003Kerstin Ekman (b. 1933)Skraplotter (lit. 'Lottery Scratchcards')Albert Bonniers Förlag2004Bengt Ohlsson (b. 1963)GregoriusAlbert Bonniers Förlag2005Monika Fagerholm (b. 1961)Den amerikanska flickan (lit. 'The American Girl')Albert Bonniers Förlag2006Susanna Alakoski (b. 1962)Svinalängorna (lit. 'The Swine Rows') (trans. Beyond)Albert Bonniers Förlag2007Carl-Henning Wijkmark (1934–2020)Stundande natten (lit. 'Night Approaching')Norstedts förlag2008Per Olov Enquist (1934–2020)Ett annat liv (lit. 'A Different Life')Norstedts förlag2009Steve Sem-Sandberg (b. 1958)De fattiga i Łódź (lit. 'The Poor in Łódź') (trans. The Emperor of Lies)Albert Bonniers Förlag2010Sigrid Combüchen (b. 1942)Spill. En damroman (lit. 'Spill: A Lady's Novel')Norstedts2011Tomas Bannerhed (b. 1966)Korparna (lit. 'The Ravens')Weyler förlag2012Göran Rosenberg (b. 1948)Ett kort uppehåll på vägen från Auschwitz (lit. 'A Brief Stop on the Road from Auschwitz')Albert Bonniers Förlag2013Lena Andersson (b. 1970)Egenmäktigt förfarande – en roman om kärlek (lit. 'Arbitrary Conduct – A Novel About Love') (trans. Wilful Disregard)Natur & Kultur2014Kristina Sandberg (b. 1971)Liv till varje pris (lit. 'Life at Any Cost')Norstedts2015Jonas Hassen Khemiri (b. 1978)Allt jag inte minns (lit. 'Everything I Don't Remember')Albert Bonniers Förlag2016Lina Wolff (b. 1973) (lit. 'The Polyglot Lovers')Albert Bonniers Förlag2017Johannes Anyuru (b. 1979)De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar (lit. 'They Will Drown in their Mothers' Tears')Norstedts2018Linnea Axelsson (b. 1980) (lit. 'Earth')Albert Bonniers förlag2019Marit Kapla (b. 1970)OsebolTeg Publishing2020Lydia Sandgren (b. 1987)Samlade verk (lit. 'Collected Works')Albert Bonniers Förlag2021Elin Cullhed (b. 1983)Eufori: en roman om Sylvia Plath (lit. Euphoria: A Novel about Sylvia Plath)Wahlström & Widstrand2022Ia Genberg (b. 1967)Detaljerna (trans. The Details Wildfire Books, London: 2023)Weyler Förlag2023Andrev Walden (b. 1976)Jävla karlar (lit. Bloody men)Bokförlaget Polaris2024 (b. 1961)Kungen av Nostratien (lit. The King of Nostratia)Wahlström & Widstrand2025Lina Wolff (b. 1973)Liken vi begravde (lit. The bodies we buried)Albert Bonniers Förlag , En inre angelägenhet (lit. An internal matter) (Ordfront förlag) , Tomhet och ömhet (lit. Emptiness and tenderness) (Ellerströms förlag) Lydia Sandgren, Artens överlevnad (lit. Survival of the species) (Albert Bonniers Förlag) , Ett år av apokalyptiskt tänkande (lit. A year of apocalyptic thinking) (Galago) , Våran pojke (lit. Our boy) (Bokförlaget Polaris)
Non-fiction
YearWinnerWorkShortlisted nominees1992Gunnar Broberg (b. 1942) (lit. 'Golden Apples')Atlantis1993Peter Englund (b. 1957) (lit. 'The Year of Unrest')Atlantis1994 (b. 1933) (lit. 'Music in Sweden I-IV')Fischer & Co1995 (b. 1954) (lit. 'A Thousand Years in the Garden: From Sörmland Manors and Backyards')Tiden1996Maja Hagerman (b. 1960) (lit. 'Traces of the King's Men')Prisma1997Sven-Eric Liedman (b. 1939) (lit. 'In the Shadow of the Future')Bonnier Alba1998 (b. 1948) (lit. 'Swedish Roads to St. Petersburg')Wahlström & Widstrand1999Jan Svartvik (1931–2024) (lit. 'English – Island Language, World Language, Trend Language')Norstedts2000Dick Harrison (b. 1966) (lit. 'Great Death')Ordfront Förlag2001Hans Hammarskjöld (1925–2012), (b. 1941), & Per Wästberg (b. 1933) (lit. 'The Ladder of Memory')Max Ström2002 (1934–2020) (lit. 'Gustav Vasa – Father of the Country or Tyrant?')Prisma2003 (b. 1934) (lit. 'Ideas About Life')Natur & Kultur2004Sverker Sörlin (b. 1956) (lit. 'History of Europe's Ideas 1492–1918:The Order of the World and the Darkness in Man')Natur & Kultur2005Lena Einhorn (b. 1954)Ninas resa (lit. 'Nina's Journey')Prisma2006Cecilia Lindqvist (b. 1932)QinAlbert Bonniers Förlag2007 (b. 1948) (lit. 'With Life at Stake')Wahlström & Widstrand2008 (b. 1964) & (b. 1944) (lit. 'Directed by Bergman')Max Ström2009 (b. 1958) & Susanne Åkesson (b. 1964) (lit. 'To Survive the Day')Symposion2010Yvonne Hirdman (b. 1943) (lit. 'The Red Countess')Ordfront förlag2011Elisabeth Åsbrink (b. 1965) (lit. 'And in Wienerwald the Trees Remain')Natur & Kultur2012Ingrid Carlberg (b. 1961) (lit. 'There's a Room Waiting for You – The Story of Raoul Wallenberg')Norstedts2013Bea Uusma (b. 1966) (lit. 'The Expedition. My Love Story') (trans. The Expedition: The Forgotten Story of a Polar Tragedy)Norstedts2014Lars Lerin (b. 1954) (lit. 'Natural Science')Bonniers2015 (b. 1959) (lit. 'My European Family. The Last 54,000 Years')Albert Bonniers Förlag2016Nina Burton (b. 1946) (lit. 'The Gutenberg Galaxy's Nova. An essay on Erasmus of Rotterdam, Humanism and the 16th-century Media Revolution')Albert Bonniers Förlag2017 (b. 1977) (lit. 'Fucking Sunshine: A Biography of Ester Blenda Nordström')Forum2018 (b. 1971)Svälten. Hungeråren som formade Sverige (lit. 'Famine: The Years of Hunger that Shaped Sweden')Albert Bonniers förlag2019 (b. 1972)Ålevangeliet. Berättelsen om världens mest gåtfulla fisk (trans. The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World (Ecco Press))Albert Bonniers förlag2020Elin Anna Labba (b. 1980)Herrarna satte oss hit. Om tvångsförflyttningarna i Sverige (trans. The Rocks Will Echo Our Sorrow: The Forced Displacement of the Northern Sámi (University of Minnesota Press))Norstedts2021 (b. 1975)Dolda gudar – en bok om allt som inte går förlorat i en översättning (lit. 'Hidden Gods. A Book about Everything that is not Lost in a Translation')Norstedts2022Nina van den Brink (b. 1966)Jag har torkat nog många golv (lit. I have wiped enough floors)Norstedts2023 (b. 1956)Zorn Albert Bonniers förlag2024 (b. 1971)Ett liv värt att leva (lit. A life worth living)Albert Bonniers Förlag, Fängslade öden (lit. Imprisoned Fates) (Historiska Media) , Bosse Lindquist, , De hemliga breven (lit. The secret letters) (Albert Bonniers Förlag) , Oland (lit. Oland) (Appell Förlag) , Varje tugga är en tanke. (lit. Every bite is a thought.) (Natur & Kultur) , Skogen (lit. The forest) (Bokförlaget Stolpe)2025Bea Uusma (b. 1966)Vitön.Norstedts Göran Greider, Stinas bästa vän (lit. Stina's best friend) (Ordfront förlag) Robin Olovsson, Historien om Norrland (lit. The history of Norrland) (Volante) , Bruno Liljefors (lit. Bruno Liljefors) (Albert Bonniers Förlag) Lena Sohl, Tvätten (lit. The laundry) (Natur & Kultur) , Den barmhärtige mördaren (lit. The Merciful Killer) (Albert Bonniers Förlag)
Children and Young Adult YearEnglish literal translationOriginal Swedish titleAuthorPublisher1992 I Miss You, I Miss You! Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig! Peter Pohl & Kinna Gieth Rabén & Sjögren1993 Vinterviken Mats Wahl Bonnier Carlsen1994 The Master and the Four Printers Ulf Nilsson Natur & Kultur1995 The Girl Who Did Not Want to Kiss Rose Lagercrantz Brombergs1996 My Sister is an Angel Min syster är en ängel Ulf Stark & Anna Höglund Alfabeta Bokförlag1997 Truth or Dare Annika Thor Bonnier Carlsen1998 The Journey to the End of the World Henning Mankell Rabén & Sjögren1999 Plays Dead Opal2000 Gittan and the Gray Wolves Pija Lindenbaum Rabén & Sjögren2001 Are U 4 Real? Sandor slash Ida Sara Kadefors Bonnier Carlsen2002 Goodbye, Mr. Muffin Ulf Nilsson & Anna-Clara Tidholm Bonnier Carlsen2003 In the Ceiling the Stars Are Shining I taket lyser stjärnorna Johanna Thydell Natur & Kultur2004 Is Elias Dancing? No! Katarina Kieri Rabén & Sjögren2005 Eddie Bolander & I & Rabén & Sjögren2006 Svenne Per Nilsson Rabén & Sjögren2007 Where's My Sister? Sven Nordqvist Opal2008 The Legend of Sally Jones Bonnier Carlsen2009 Write Again and Again Ylva Karlsson, , Sara Lundberg & X Publishing2010 Me On the Floor, Bleeding Jenny Jägerfeld Gilla Böcker2011 Girls Lost Pojkarna Bonnier Carlsen2012 ABC and All Dat Bonnier Carlsen2013 The String, The Bird and Me Ellen Karlsson & Eva Lindström Hippo bokförlag2014 The Murderer's Ape Jakob Wegelius Bonnier Carlsen2015 When the Dogs Come Jessica Schiefauer Bonnier Carlsen2016 Ten Past One Ann-Helén Laestadius Rabén & Sjögren2017 The Bird in Me Flies Wherever It Wants Sara Lundberg Mirando Bok2018 The Pit Emma Adbåge Mirando Bok2019 Wait for the Wind Brombergs2020 Humlan Hansson's Secrets & Hippo bokförlag2021 The Night Raven Nattkorpen Natur & Kultur2022 We're Just Going to Cycle Past Vi ska ju bara cykla förbi Rabén & Sjögren and Schildts & Söderströms2023 Wood anemones and piss rats Vitsippa och pissråttor & Hanna KlinthageRabén & Sjögren2024 Chop Chop: A brave farmer's storyChop Chop: En tapper jordbos berättelse Linda Bondestam Förlaget M2025City of RaccoonsTvättbjörnarnas stadFabian GoransonGalago
References
Notes
External links Official website