Anna Hallberg has been nominated for the third time for the Nordic Council Literature Prize. Her nominated work is AN, which is her tenth poetry collection. " Linda Örtenblad's Kartotek över döda och återuppståndna is Sweden's second nominee.
This work marks Linda Örtenblad's return as an author. She debuted in 2004 with Den anatomiska teatern, which was nominated for the Borås Tidning debutant prize. The jury described Linda Örtenblad as unlike any other Swedish short story writer, stating, "Örtenblad is not like any other Swedish short story writer.
With her boldly independent and sensual poetry collection AN, Anna Hallberg solidifies her position as one of the most important voices in contemporary Swedish poetry, while testing and pushing the boundaries of her own poetics.
She defamiliarizes the world, to make it – not comprehensible – but perhaps just more real. In the stories, there is a feverish and nervous mood that can make one think of Kafka and Poe; she is not interested in neatly putting things in order, but rather in evoking wonder and causing trouble. " The nominees for the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2026 include works from Denmark, Norway, Norway/Sápmi, Faroe Islands, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, and Åland.
The specific criteria used by the jury for selecting nominees have not been disclosed. The winner of the Nordic Council Literature Prize 2026 has not yet been announced.
Örtenblad is not like any other Swedish short story writer. She defamiliarizes the world, to make it – not comprehensible – but perhaps just more real. In the stories, there is a feverish and nervous mood that can make one think of Kafka and Poe; she is not interested in neatly putting things in order, but rather in evoking wonder and causing trouble. Exactly what literature should do, in other words.