Winner of the White Reindeer Award 2019
Novels, films, graphic novels, radio theatre, stage play and videogames. There is no end to what Sara B. Elfgren has been doing in recent years. We are proud to announce that Sara is the first to receive the White Reindeer Award and the Jury especially recognizes Sara´s own ability expand her creative footprint and to reach new audiences.
The White Reindeer Jury motivation:
Sara B. Elfgren has the ability to engage deeply with teenagers without condescending or adult tone. Her narrative is confident and doesn’t shy away deeper topics. In what may seem as familiar settings, Sara keeps you hooked with her world-building, the relatable characters she creates therein, and plenty of surprising twists.
Over and over, Sara has shown a unique talent not bound by platforms. With ease, her imaginary worlds have proven themselves captivating in novels, films, graphic novels, radio theatre, stage play and recently in a VR video game experience.
With a stunning talent for storytelling and with a creative style that keeps the consumer of her work captured from start to finish, Sara has shown a great diversity within her unique style which she expands into new media formats.
Sara B. Elfgren stormed onto the literary stage with the first book of the “Engelsfors-trilogy” in 2011. Seen from the perspective of young teenagers, the series describes our world but with witchcraft, magical and supernatural events naturally woven into the fabric of reality. It won critical acclaim, commercial success and she co-wrote the screenplay for the film based on the first novel in the series.
With the graphic novel “Vei”, Sara lovingly flips the Norse mythology on its head and tells a story with a strong female lead character and her epic quest.
Her most recent novel, “In Dreams” again displays her ability to establish a believable and fascinating modern day setting with magic and myths, which speaks to and inspires teenage readers.
In 2016, she wrote the “Voices of the Dead” radio theatre for Swedish Radio. It was a huge hit with many listeners who were brought back to their role-playing days of the nineties. Again, Sara chiseled out deep characters struggling with anxieties and emotions in adolescence.
Internationally, her work has been recognized and translated into 25 languages. She has won, and been nominated for, numerous awards in Sweden and internationally.
As evidenced by her co-writing “Engelsfors” with Mats Strandberg, and “Vei” with Karl Johnsson, both outstanding creators of their own, Sara is a collaborative creative person, but the Jury especially recognizes Sara´s own ability expand her creative footprint into a range of media platforms, to reach new audiences, showing a truly entrepreneurial spirit.
About the White Reindeer Award
The White Reindeer Award is a new annual award given to a person in Sweden, Norway or Finland who has “made significant efforts to build bridges between fictional worlds and the creative industry”. In addition to the honor, the winner also receives a prize sum of SEK 30,000. The award will be presented for the first time by Fredrik Malmberg, who established the prize, and the association Nordskens Vänner on May 29, 2019 at a gala in Skellefteå, Sweden, during Arctic Game Week, as an introduction to the gaming festival Nordsken. There will also be a stage conversation with Sara on the first day of Nordsken about the worlds she has created and about winning the prize.
The Jury consists of representatives from the creative industry in Sweden, Norway and Finland. These are:
– Fredrik Malmberg, owner of Cabinet Entertainment and pioneer of the Swedish game industry.
– Fredrik Wester, Chairman of Paradox Interactive, Sweden.
– Jessica Gedin, Hostess, Babel literary talk show Sweden.
– Karoliina Korppoo, CEO, Visual Novel Entertainment, Finland.
– Vesa Raudasoja, Chair Emeritus, International Game Developers Association, Finland.
– Erling Ellingsen, Chief Marketing Officer at Funcom, Norway.
– Henriette Myrlund, CEO at Tellicherry Games, Norway.