| August Prize | |
| Awarded For: | the best Swedish books of the year that will increase public interest in Swedish contemporary literature |
| Sponsor: | Swedish Publishers' Association (SvF), Elite Hotels of Sweden |
| Date: | 12 April 1988 (started awarding on 1989) |
| Location: | Stockholm |
| Country: | Sweden |
| Presenter: | Swedish Publishers' Association (SvF) |
| Reward: | An August figurine and a monetary award of SEK 100,000 |
| Website: | augustpriset.se |
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).
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]
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]
| Year | Winner | Work | Shortlisted nominees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Cecilia Lindqvist (b. 1932) | Tecknens rike (lit. 'The Empire of Signs') | Bonniers | |||
| 1990 | Lars Ahlin (1915–1997) | De sotarna! De sotarna! (lit. 'The Chimney Sweepers! The Chimney Sweepers | ') | Bonniers | ||
| 1991 | Sven Delblanc (1931–1992) | Livets ax (lit. 'Ear of Life') | Bonniers |
| Year | Winner | Work | Shortlisted nominees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Niklas Rådström (b. 1953) | Medan tiden tänker på annat (lit. 'When Time Thinks About Other Things') | Gedins | |||
| 1993 | Kerstin Ekman (b. 1933) | Händelser vid vatten (lit. 'Events by Water') (trans. Blackwater) | Bonniers | |||
| 1994 | Björn Ranelid (b. 1949) | Synden (lit. 'The Sin') | Bonnier Alba | |||
| 1995 | Torgny Lindgren (1938–2017) | Hummelhonung (lit. 'Bumblebee Honey') (trans. Sweetness) | Norstedts | |||
| 1996 | Tomas Tranströmer (1931–2015) | Sorgegondolen (lit. 'The Sorrow Gondola') | Bonniers | |||
| 1997 | Majgull Axelsson (b. 1947) | Aprilhäxan (lit. 'April Witch') | Gedins | |||
| 1998 | Göran Tunström (1937–2000) | Berömda män som varit i Sunne (lit. 'Famous Men Who Have Visited Sunne') | Albert Bonniers förlag | |||
| 1999 | Per Olov Enquist (1934–2020) | Livläkarens besök (lit. 'The Visit of the Royal Physician') | Norstedts | |||
| 2000 | Mikael Niemi (b. 1951) | Populärmusik från Vittula (lit. 'Popular Music from Vittula') | Norstedts | |||
| 2001 | Torbjörn Flygt (b. 1964) | Underdog | Norstedts | |||
| 2002 | Carl-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 Förlag | |||
| 2003 | Kerstin Ekman (b. 1933) | Skraplotter (lit. 'Lottery Scratchcards') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2004 | Bengt Ohlsson (b. 1963) | Gregorius | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2005 | Monika Fagerholm (b. 1961) | Den amerikanska flickan (lit. 'The American Girl') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2006 | Susanna Alakoski (b. 1962) | Svinalängorna (lit. 'The Swine Rows') (trans. Beyond) | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2007 | Carl-Henning Wijkmark (1934–2020) | Stundande natten (lit. 'Night Approaching') | Norstedts förlag | |||
| 2008 | Per Olov Enquist (1934–2020) | Ett annat liv (lit. 'A Different Life') | Norstedts förlag | |||
| 2009 | Steve Sem-Sandberg (b. 1958) | De fattiga i Łódź (lit. 'The Poor in Łódź') (trans. The Emperor of Lies) | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2010 | Sigrid Combüchen (b. 1942) | Spill. En damroman (lit. 'Spill: A Lady's Novel') | Norstedts | |||
| 2011 | Tomas Bannerhed (b. 1966) | Korparna (lit. 'The Ravens') | Weyler förlag | |||
| 2012 | Göran Rosenberg (b. 1948) | Ett kort uppehåll på vägen från Auschwitz (lit. 'A Brief Stop on the Road from Auschwitz') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2013 | Lena Andersson (b. 1970) | Egenmäktigt förfarande – en roman om kärlek (lit. 'Arbitrary Conduct – A Novel About Love') (trans. Wilful Disregard) | Natur & Kultur | |||
| 2014 | Kristina Sandberg (b. 1971) | Liv till varje pris (lit. 'Life at Any Cost') | Norstedts | |||
| 2015 | Jonas Hassen Khemiri (b. 1978) | Allt jag inte minns (lit. 'Everything I Don't Remember') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2016 | Lina Wolff (b. 1973) | (lit. 'The Polyglot Lovers') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2017 | Johannes Anyuru (b. 1979) | De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar (lit. 'They Will Drown in their Mothers' Tears') | Norstedts | |||
| 2018 | Linnea Axelsson (b. 1980) | (lit. 'Earth') | Albert Bonniers förlag | |||
| 2019 | Marit Kapla (b. 1970) | Osebol | Teg Publishing | |||
| 2020 | (b. 1987) | Samlade verk (lit. 'Collected Works') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2021 | Elin Cullhed (b. 1983) | Eufori: en roman om Sylvia Plath (lit. Euphoria: A Novel about Slyvia Plath) | Wahlström & Widstrand | |||
| 2022 | Ia Genberg (b. 1967) | Detaljerna (trans. The Details Wildfire Books, London: 2023) | Weyler Förlag | |||
| 2023 | (b. 1976) | Jävla karlar (lit. Bloody men) | Bokförlaget Polaris |
| Year | Winner | Work | Shortlisted nominees | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Gunnar Broberg (b. 1942) | (lit. 'Golden Apples') | Atlantis | |||
| 1993 | Peter Englund (b. 1957) | (lit. 'The Year of Unrest') | Atlantis | |||
| 1994 | (b. 1933) | (lit. 'Music in Sweden I-IV') | Fischer & Co | |||
| 1995 | (b. 1954) | (lit. 'A Thousand Years in the Garden: From Sörmland Manors and Backyards') | Tiden | |||
| 1996 | Maja Hagerman (b. 1960) | (lit. 'Traces of the King's Men') | Prisma | |||
| 1997 | Sven-Eric Liedman (b. 1939) | (lit. 'In the Shadow of the Future') | Bonnier Alba | |||
| 1998 | (b. 1948) | (lit. 'Swedish Roads to St. Petersburg') | Wahlström & Widstrand | |||
| 1999 | Jan Svartvik (b. 1931) | (lit. 'English – Island Language, World Language, Trend Language') | Norstedts | |||
| 2000 | Dick Harrison (b. 1966) | (lit. 'Great Death') | Ordfront Förlag | |||
| 2001 | Hans Hammarskjöld (1925–2012), (b. 1941), & Per Wästberg (b. 1933) | (lit. 'The Ladder of Memory') | Max Ström | |||
| 2002 | (1934–2020) | (lit. 'Gustav Vasa – Father of the Country or Tyrant?') | Prisma | |||
| 2003 | (b. 1934) | (lit. 'Ideas About Life') | Natur & Kultur | |||
| 2004 | Sverker Sörlin (b. 1956) | (lit. 'History of Europe's Ideas 1492–1918:The Order of the World and the Darkness in Man') | Natur & Kultur | |||
| 2005 | Lena Einhorn (b. 1954) | Ninas resa (lit. 'Nina's Journey') | Prisma | |||
| 2006 | Cecilia Lindqvist (b. 1932) | Qin | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2007 | (b. 1948) | (lit. 'With Life at Stake') | Wahlström & Widstrand | |||
| 2008 | (b. 1964) & (b. 1944) | (lit. 'Directed by Bergman') | Max Ström | |||
| 2009 | (b. 1958) & Susanne Åkesson (b. 1964) | (lit. 'To Survive the Day') | Symposion | |||
| 2010 | Yvonne Hirdman (b. 1943) | (lit. 'The Red Countess') | Ordfront förlag | |||
| 2011 | Elisabeth Åsbrink (b. 1965) | (lit. 'And in Wienerwald the Trees Remain') | Natur & Kultur | |||
| 2012 | Ingrid Carlberg (b. 1961) | (lit. 'There's a Room Waiting for You – The Story of Raoul Wallenberg') | Norstedts | |||
| 2013 | Bea Uusma (b. 1966) | (lit. 'The Expedition. My Love Story') (trans. The Expedition: The Forgotten Story of a Polar Tragedy) | Norstedts | |||
| 2014 | Lars Lerin (b. 1954) | (lit. 'Natural Science') | Bonniers | |||
| 2015 | (b. 1959) | (lit. 'My European Family. The Last 54,000 Years') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2016 | Nina Burton (b. 1946) | (lit. 'The Gutenberg Galaxy's Nova. An essay on Erasmus of Rotterdam, Humanism and the 16th-century Media Revolution') | Albert Bonniers Förlag | |||
| 2017 | (b. 1977) | (lit. 'Fucking Sunshine: A Biography of Ester Blenda Nordström') | Forum | |||
| 2018 | (b. 1971) | Svälten. Hungeråren som formade Sverige (lit. 'Famine: The Years of Hunger that Shaped Sweden') | Albert Bonniers förlag | |||
| 2019 | (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 förlag | |||
| 2020 | Elin 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)) | Norstedts | |||
| 2021 | (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') | Norstedts | |||
| 2022 | Nina van den Brink (b. 1966) | Jag har torkat nog många golv (lit. I have wiped enough floors) | Norstedts | |||
| 2023 | (b. 1956) | Zorn | Albert Bonniers förlag |
| Year | English literal translation | Original Swedish title | Author | Publisher | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | I Miss You, I Miss You! | Jag saknar dig, jag saknar dig! | Peter Pohl & Kinna Gieth | Rabén & Sjögren | |
| 1993 | Vinterviken | Bonnier Carlsen | |||
| 1994 | The Master and the Four Printers | Natur & Kultur | |||
| 1995 | The Girl Who Did Not Want to Kiss | Brombergs | |||
| 1996 | My Sister is an Angel | Min syster är en ängel | Alfabeta Bokförlag | ||
| 1997 | Truth or Dare | Bonnier Carlsen | |||
| 1998 | The Journey to the End of the World | Rabén & Sjögren | |||
| 1999 | Plays Dead | Opal | |||
| 2000 | Gittan and the Gray Wolves | Rabén & Sjögren | |||
| 2001 | Are U 4 Real? | Sandor slash Ida | Bonnier Carlsen | ||
| 2002 | Goodbye, Mr. Muffin | Bonnier Carlsen | |||
| 2003 | In the Ceiling the Stars Are Shining | I taket lyser stjärnorna | Natur & Kultur | ||
| 2004 | Is Elias Dancing? No! | Rabén & Sjögren | |||
| 2005 | Eddie Bolander & I | & | Rabén & Sjögren | ||
| 2006 | Svenne | Rabén & Sjögren | |||
| 2007 | Where's My Sister? | Opal | |||
| 2008 | The Legend of Sally Jones | Bonnier Carlsen | |||
| 2009 | Write Again and Again | Ylva Karlsson,, Sara Lundberg & | X Publishing | ||
| 2010 | Me On the Floor, Bleeding | Jenny Jägerfeld | Gilla Böcker | ||
| 2011 | Girls Lost | Pojkarna | Bonnier Carlsen | ||
| 2012 | ABC and All Dat | Bonnier Carlsen | |||
| 2013 | The String, The Bird and Me | Hippo bokförlag | |||
| 2014 | The Murderer's Ape | Jakob Wegelius | Bonnier Carlsen | ||
| 2015 | When the Dogs Come | Jessica Schiefauer | Bonnier Carlsen | ||
| 2016 | Ten Past One | Rabén & Sjögren | |||
| 2017 | The Bird in Me Flies Wherever It Wants | Sara Lundberg | Mirando Bok | ||
| 2018 | The Pit | Mirando Bok | |||
| 2019 | Wait for the Wind | Brombergs | |||
| 2020 | Humlan Hansson's Secrets | & | Hippo bokförlag | ||
| 2021 | The Night Raven | Nattkorpen | Natur & Kultur | ||
| 2022 | We're Just Going to Cycle Past | Vi ska ju bara cykla förbi | Rabén & Sjögren and Schildts & Söderströms | ||
| 2023 | Wood anemones and piss rats | Vitsippa och pissråttor | & Hanna Klinthage | Rabén & Sjögren |