The prize is awarded by the municipality of Håbo, and this year the jury has chosen to award the prize to both Alakoski and Karlsson on the grounds that “they are two authors in contemporary labour working-class literature that with new expressions and in different contexts continue to write in the spirit of Jan Fridegård, where class affiliation is a common perspective”.

The jury for the prize this year was the Jan Fridegård Society. And the jury’s motivation is as follows:

“Since her debut with Svinalängorna in 2006, Susanna Alakoski has continued to shine a spotlight on the cracks in the welfare society with a clear class perspective in the spirit of Fridegård. In her ongoing tetralogy about four generations of women with origins in the textile industry in Wasa, Finland, she intertwines class and gender issues in the journeys of daughters and granddaughters.”

About the prize: The Jan Fridegård Prize is a Nordic cultural prize in memory of Jan Fridegård’s writing. It is awarded to a person who, in the spirit of Fridegård, works in literature, film or theatre. The prize is awarded every two years by the municipality of Håbo and the total prize money is SEK 100,000. Previous winners include Marit Paulsen, Elsie Johansson and Jila Mossaed.