8 Top Literary Agents in Sweden - Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books.

Are you an author who writes in a Scandinavian language, be it Swedish, Danish or Norwegian?

Have you written a manuscript for a novel, a nonfiction book, or a children’s book and are now looking for a literary agent to help you in your quest to get a publisher to take your book on?

Perhaps you’re looking for a literary agent to help sell the translation rights to your book internationally, so you can reach a global audience? Or are you looking for an agent to sell the rights to adapt your story into a film?

This post will help you.

Continue reading to learn about 8 top literary agents in Sweden and the agencies they either run, or work for.

1. Astri von Arbin Ahlander

In 2012, Astri von Arbin Ahlander formed Ahlander Agency bringing with her 10 years of experience of working in the United States. Astri helped to change the way agents in the country work with publishers. Traditionally, agents in Sweden are linked to publishers and her experience of working in the States (where agents generally work independently of publishers) helped her to apply the American way to her own agency. Ahlander Agency is a boutique agency, so if you’re an author looking for an intimate experience, this agency, which also sells film and translation rights, could be the one for you. Some of the authors, which Ahlander Agency has represented, include Joakim Zander, Geir Tangen and Bertil Marklund, among many others.

The agency, which is based in Stockholm reviews submissions Scandinavian languages and if you want to submit your manuscript, materials you need to submit include a cover letter, a short synopsis of your book and its first 50 pages. You can email your submission to: submissions@ahlanderagency.com.

2. Lena Stjernström

Lena Stjernström is Managing Director of Grand Agency and also a literary agent at this organization. Along with a strong background in the business side of publishing, Lena has a degree in Political Science and is supported at this agency by a team of literary agents. Grand Agency is based in Stockholm and specializes in representing Swedish authors and writers from other Scandinavian and Nordic nations. This agency has represented numerous renowned authors such as Tove Alsterdal, Marianne Cedervall, and Henrik Fexeus. Take a look at this page to find out more about the authors whose books Grand Agency has sold.

Grand Agency represents all types of genres and written work for television, film, newspapers and also illustrators. If you’re interested in querying Lena or any of the other agents, send an email to intake@grandagency.se and provide some further details about you and your manuscript. Do note though that this agency only reviews manuscripts written in a Scandinavian language, and does not review English books.

3. Magdalena Hedlund

Having worked before in the rights department of Norstedts Publishing Group, with experience of working at Plus Licens AB representing film studios in Hollywood, Magdalena Hedlund started the Hedlund Literary Agency in 2011. Hedlund Agency is based on Tyska brinken in Central Stockholm and its agents are responsible for representing numerous bestselling authors such as David Lagercrantz, the late Stieg Larsson, Lena Andersson, Karin Alvtegen, Henrik Berggren, Augustin Erba-Odescalchi and many others.

The focus of the Hedlund Agency is to represent works of general fiction, crime, thrillers and also a limited amount of books for children. If you’ve written a book belonging to one of these genres, email Magdalena Hedlund to tell her more about your proposal at: magdalena@hedlundagency.se.

4. Catharina Lantz

Catharina Lantz runs Koja Agency in Stockholm in partnership with Carin Bacho. Koja Agency is unique in that it represents not only authors, but also independent publishers and illustrators. A subsidiary organization to the Swedish publishing foundation Natur & Kultur, Koja Agency is a specialist in representing books for children and young adults. This agency has represented numerous award-winning authors and illustrators such as Moni Nilsson, Lisen Adbåge and Mats Wahl. Take a look at this page to learn about them. If you want to make a submission to this agency, contact Catharina Lantz at: catharina.lantz@kojaagency.com. The postal address for this agency is Koja Agency, c/o Atlantis, Sturegatan 24, 11436 Stockholm, Sweden.

5. Maria Enberg

Maria Enberg founded the Enberg Literary Agency in 2016, so this is a more recent player in the world of Swedish literary and film agencies. Maria though, is an experienced publishing professional who has worked in the industry for 30 years with many of these spent working as a literary agent for several organizations. Enberg Literary Agency works with authors who might be at different periods in their careers, and represents various genres of books including crime and thriller, horror, romance, fantasy, and nonfiction; this agency has a particular focus on women’s books.

You can read about the authors Enberg Literary Agency has worked with here. It is advised that you contact this agency first to introduce yourself, and to learn about how it works with authors before making a submission. Maria Enberg’s email address is maria@enbergagency.se or you can write a letter to Hörnåkersvägen 21 183 65 Täby Sverige.

6. Niclas Salomonsson

If you’re looking for an agent whose passion it is to help readers across the world find Scandinavian authors, then Niclas Salomonsson who is founder of Salomonsson Agency fits this bill. Although the organization now has another CEO (Julia Angelin), Niclas continues to represent authors. Salomonsson Agency represents approximately 40 Nordic authors who have written in varying genres ranging from crime fiction to children’s fiction, to literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. Take a look at this page to find out more about these who literally are the finest of Scandinavian writers.

If screenwriting is your forte, then it’s worth knowing that this agency also represents a limited number of screenwriters. The agency accepts submissions that are unsolicited through email and which are written in one of the Scandinavian languages. The agency aims to respond to submissions with 8 weeks. Take a look here for further details about how you can make a query.

7. Rita G Karlsson

Portuguese in origin, with a degree in Linguistics and settled in Stockholm, Rita G Karlsson is founder of Kontext Agency, and if you’re looking for an agency that specializes in representing narrative nonfiction, then this is the one for you. Specific types of narrative nonfiction this agency represents, includes politics, current affairs, biography, history, business and management, sports, and investigative journalism. Kontext Agency also works occasionally with authors of fiction. If you’re a Nordic author whose book has global appeal that can ignite huge numbers of people, take a look at this page to find out how you can make a submission.

8. Anna Frankl

Anna Frankl is a Partner and literary agent at Nordin Agency, an organization based in Stockholm. The agency was founded in 1990 and works with top Scandinavian authors representing them worldwide. Among many others, authors which Nordin Agency has represented, includes Anna Karolina, Mons Kallentoft, Mårten Sanden, Camilla & Viveca Sten, Carina Bergfeldt, Sigge Eklund, and Carl Magnus Palm. If you’re interested in making a submission, your manuscript needs to be written in a Scandinavian language. English submissions are no accepted. You can send your manuscript to: manus@nordinagency.se.

Are you an author who is represented by one of the above literary agents in Sweden? Please tell us more in the comments box!

Would you like to read articles at Writing Tips Oasis in Swedish? You can do so at the following link:

https://writingtipsoasis.com/sv/

Hiten Vyas is the Founder and Managing Editor of Writing Tips Oasis.