There is a great international interest in Swedish literature. The Swedish Arts Council is the government agency with responsibility for promoting Swedish literature in translation. Through Swedish Literature Exchange we coordinate a number of efforts within the field.
This grant aims to promote the international dissemination of high-quality Swedish literature and Swedish drama and to enable international exchanges in the field.
This grant promotes international exchange and skill improvement activities among translators of Swedish literature and drama.
The objective of this grant is to increase publishing of quality literature in other Nordic languages. Since the grant is established in the national literature centres and their national and international networks, it can contribute to a wider discussion on translated literature.
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How we promote Swedish literature in translation
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Funding schemes for translation and promotion
Find out more about our grants and activities for translators
Swedish children’s fiction has a special kind of magic. Whether tranquil or wild, rooted in reality or bursting the bounds of the imagination, it nearly always strikes the same fundamental note: a profound respect for children as thinking people.
This booklet is for everyone interested in what’s happening in contemporary Swedish literature. You will discover promising debut authors as well as established voices. What they have in common is that they are all deemed to have the potential to reach more readers beyond Sweden’s borders.
With more than 70 events featuring Swedish authors, Stories From Sweden is now in its second year. We asked Martin Colthorpe, director of Modern Culture, to tell us more about the project and its work to promote Swedish literature in translation.
In the second round, grants have been awarded to 31 projects featuring a diverse range of literary events. Many of these events provide opportunities to build long-term networks between publishers, festivals, translators, bookshops, libraries, schools, and cultural institutions, which can lead to future publishing opportunities and increased capacity for translation.
In the second application round of 2026, we approved 24 applications for grants for translators. Most of those approved will travel to the Gothenburg Book Fair in September. In this round, we also approved several sample translations, including poetry and drama for stage performance.
In The House with the Two Towers (Huset med de två tornen), Maciej Zaremba dissects the events of his parents’ lives and how their war experiences led to an inevitable separation. Janny Middelbeek-Oortgiesen, who translates into Dutch, recommends a book that draws a finely nuanced portrait of childhood in post-war Poland.
Who Does Suzanne Osten Think She Is? is more than a magnificent and colourful portrait of one of the greatest theatre and film directors of our time. It is a portrait of a zeitgeist. Ana Valdés, who translates into Spanish, recommends Suzanne Osten’s autobiography published in 2021.
Emöke Andersson Lipcsey, who translates into Hungarian, recommends a book based on the life of the historical figure Johann Christian Woyzeck. The author Steve Sem-Sandberg uses W.’s fate to paint a shocking, true picture of how the brutality of war can affect and warp the character of the individual.