For only the second time in its history, the Nordic Council Literature Prize has gone to a Sámi-language work. What earned this year’s winner such recognition?
Awarded annually since 1962, the Nordic Council Literature Prize honours literary achievement across the Nordic languages, recognising works ranging from novels and plays to poetry and short stories.
Until this week, its only Sámi-language winner was Nils-Aslak Valkeapää’s Beaivi, Áhčážan (The Sun, My Father), honoured in 1991. On 20 October, Sigbjørn Skåden was announced as the 2026 winner for Láŋtdievvá / Planterhaug. Nominated by both the Norwegian and Sámi committees, he will receive the award in Helsinki on 27 October.
A light touch on deep questions
Published in 2025, the novel takes its titles from the Sámi and Norwegian names of Skåden’s home village in Ofoten, northern Norway. The place provides the setting for a detective story that reaches beyond its investigation.
An elderly man dies, and nobody initially suspects a crime. Yet detective John Edgar Huuva arrives from Oslo to investigate. His enquiries draw him into family history and the community’s unspoken past.
Publisher Cappelen Damm describes the book as tackling difficult subjects with humour, exploring the topics of nature, culture and belonging. The jury praises its original, playful storytelling alongside its poetic and melancholic qualities. It also highlights the novel’s historical depth, linking Norway’s assimilation policies with questions of Sámi identity today.
For the love of home
Skåden wrote the novel in Torne Sámi first and then reworked it in Norwegian. Both versions were published simultaneously. He has described the book as an expression of love for his home village and Sámi storytelling traditions.
According to press reports, he had initially been asked to write in Norwegian. As he prepared to begin, however, he felt he could not become an author who abandoned Sámi.
Languages carry cultural memory and identity. Across the Arctic, their use has endured despite generations of suppression. Polar Journal previously explored efforts to improve their visibility and accessibility, including the possibilities offered by AI translation.
Skåden hopes the award will encourage younger writers to see a future in telling stories in their own languages. After 35 years, that possibility has a prominent new example.
PolarJournal Team