About the Swedish Academy

Foto: Rickard L. Eriksson

The Swedish Academy, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is an independent cultural institution whose purpose is to promote Swedish language and literature. Much of the extensive work being carried out in this regard has been collated under the portal svenska.se. The Academy also provides support to writers, translators, critics, researchers, teachers and librarians in awarding numerous prizes and scholarships, while also allocating grants to cultural organisations throughout Sweden. Funded partly through litteraturbanken.se and partly through its own publications, the Academy contributes to making our Swedish literary heritage freely available. Among the most famous tasks entrusted to the Academy is to nominate the Nobel laureates in literature, which therefore gives it an important international role to play in the promotion of superlative writing and enriching reading experiences.

The Swedish Academy is one of many academies and learned societies for which H.M. the King is Royal Patron. This publication describes the ten royal academies that were founded to oversee their respective fields nationally: The Royal Swedish Academies »

The Academy´s motto, decided by Gustav III himself, is snille och smak ("taste and talent", roughly speaking).

The Members