The Saami Council Literature Prize 2020

The Saami Council is now looking for candidates for the Literature Prize for 2020, and Monday 20 April 2020 is the deadline for submitting proposals.

The Saami Council Literature Prize has been awarded every other year since 1994, and Rauni Manninen, Niillas Holmberg, Siri Broch Johansen, Rauni Magga Lukkari are some of the previous awardees.

- The purpose of the Saami Council Literature Prize is to encourage people to write in Sámi language. The publicity surrounding the award gives the author attention and rises awareness to Sámi literature in general, says Christina Hætta, head of the Saami Council's cultural unit.

This year, the prize will be awarded a fictional book targeted at Sámi children and youth. This can include novels, drama, poetry, short stories or essays, biographies and fairy tales.

- We wish to see a great diversity in the proposals and encourage publishers, organizations, and others to nominate books.

In order to be nominated for the literature prize, the book's original language must, as a general rule, be Sámi. Exceptions can be made, e.g. by translations into the smaller Sámi languages. More information about the nomination can be found on the Saami Council's website.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Monday 20.04.2020, and proposals can be sent to kultuvra@saamicouncil.net.