Tensta konsthalls Text Prize 2025—Time to submit!

Tensta Konsthall's Text Prize 2025 has opened!

Short stories, poems, plays, spoken word, novels in progress and haikus. This is the text prize for those who love to write, have texts in their drawer or dream of being read by a professional writer. Tensta Konsthall's Text Prize is aimed at young people throughout Sweden between the ages of 15 and 26.

The text form is free and it is also possible to submit read poems. November 2 is the last day for submissions and then the jury will gather to review the texts.

The three winning writers will be announced in early December.

The jury includes Agri Ismaïl and Nora Khalil as well as the poet Lina Rydén Reynols.

This is how you get in the right mood to write, says jury member Agri Ismaïl, author of the critically acclaimed novel Hyper, which received the Katapult Prize for the best fiction debut of 2024:

– Read. Read everything you think is good, read what you think is bad, read until it becomes clear what kind of literature you want to communicate with, what kind of literature you want to take issue with, read until it becomes clear who you are. The rest is not easy, it is never easy, but your path forward will at least be clear.

For those who want to get started, Tensta konsthall is offering a writing course for young people in the fall of 2025, led by poet and writing teacher Nawroz Zakholy.

Send your contribution in pdf format to paulina@tenstakonsthall.se

About Tensta konsthall's text prize Tensta konsthall's text prize was established in 2014 and has had, among others, Lena Andersson, Athena Farrokhzad, Tone Schunnesson, Melody Farshin and Jens Lapidus on the jury. Among the laureates, in addition to Nora Khalil who has continued to write and be published, are Evin Ahmad , Mona Monasar and Artur Bagheri, who will be published this fall with the poetry collection Prinsens toner.

About the jury members

Lina Rydén Reynols, born in 1983 in Falun, currently lives in Stockholm. She made her debut in 2019 with the acclaimed Läs mina läpäras which was nominated for the Borås Tidnings debutant prize. In 2021 she published the smaller book Se mig som om jag vore död, and in 2022 came the critically acclaimed Anvåg dem som du vill. Rydén Reynols also runs a speaking choir, which with varying members performs texts in public contexts. She also works as a publisher.

Agri Ismaïl is a Swedish-Kurdish writer, living in Stockholm, who previously worked as a lawyer in London, Dubai and Iraqi Kurdistan. He regularly writes criticism and cultural debate in Expressen and his texts have been published in, among others. Glänta, Ord & Bild and The White Review. In 2024 he debuted with the novel Hyper, which won the Katapult Prize in 2024 and was nominated for: August Prize in the category Fiction Book of the Year, Adlibris Prize in the categories Debut of the Year and Novel of the Year, Borås Tidnings Debutant Prize and Sveriges Radio's Novel Prize.

Nora Khalil, born 1997, is a writer and teacher born in Botkyrka. She has previously published the novels Yani (2022) and Abow (2023). In 2023 she was a summer speaker in P1. She is one of the country's most frequently hired authors for school visits in 2024. She was the winner of Tensta konsthall's text prize in 2021 when she competed with the first chapters of Yani.

Photo Nora Khalil: Daniela Spiroska (Natur & Kultur) Photo Agri Ismaïl: Märta Thisner (Bonniers) Photo Lina Rydén: Michele Masucci Reynols (Ellerströms)