The Selma Lagerlöf Award to Sara B. Elfgren
Congratulations Sara B. Elfgren who will be awarded the prestigious Selma Lagerlöf Society Children’s and Youth Prize 2025. The award is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the lives of children and young people in the spirit of Selma Lagerlöf.
The Jury motivation is both well-articulated and very moving:
“The recipient of the 2025 Selma Lagerlöf Society Children’s and Youth Prize is Sara Bergmark Elfgren, who receives the award for her work in the spirit of Selma Lagerlöf across media boundaries. Magic and mystical beings occupy a central place in Bergmark Elfgren’s writing, and just like Lagerlöf, she uses them to depict deeply human stories of how we relate to each other and to the world around us. Bergmark Elfgren debuted with the YA titles about Engelsfors (The Circle, 2011–2013), written together with Mats Strandberg, whose world has also been turned into a comic book series (2013) and a film (2015). Since then, Bergmark Elfgren has written many books for different age groups, as well as the script for the computer game ‘Ghost Giant’ (2019), the theatrical production Bortbytingen (2019) and the libretto for Herr Arnes Penningar (2024) – the latter two being reinterpretations of Lagerlöf’s works. Bortbytingen and Herr Arnes Penningar productions underscore the kinship between the two authors, who constantly seek new paths through the enchanted forest of life.”
The scholarship of 25,000 SEK is awarded in Landskrona at the end of August—the time of year when Lagerlöf herself arrived in the city to work as a teacher at the Girls’ Elementary School. The recipient is selected by a jury panel.