Jakob Olsson, PhD in Comparative Literature at Karlstad University, has been awarded the Martha Sandwall-Bergström Scholarship for his research in children’s and young adult literature. The scholarship is awarded every other year to authors and researchers active in the field.
Congratulations, Jakob! What does this mean to you?
– Thank you! It means a great deal to me, both personally and professionally, to receive such recognition. It’s especially exciting that the scholarship was established by none other than Martha Sandwall-Bergström! The funds will be put to good use in my ongoing projects – particularly for acquiring primary materials, which can sometimes be difficult to access through libraries.
What are you currently researching?
– I’m involved in two research projects at Karlstad University. One focuses on the role of after-school centres as environments that promote reading. The other explores video games based on Swedish-language children’s literature. Although the projects take different directions, both aim to deepen our understanding of how children and young people engage with reading and literature today. It’s a field where we need many different perspectives to better understand and address the challenges surrounding young people’s reading habits and their relationship with stories.
You also lead a youth reading council in Värmland – can you tell us more about that?
– Through an initiative by the Swedish Arts Council and Sweden’s Reading Ambassador, Agnes Török, youth reading councils have been established in Jokkmokk, Sandviken, and my home municipality of Årjäng. These councils bring together young people to engage with literature and storytelling in various ways, giving them a voice in matters related to reading. In Årjäng, we have a special focus on nerd culture and work closely with the local public library and the Nordmarken Proud Nerds Association.
What do you enjoy reading in your spare time?
– Both in my work and free time, I read a lot of children’s literature – partly to stay up to date, and partly because there’s so much excellent children’s literature being published today!
The research scholarship is awarded to Jakob Olsson for his contributions to the field of children’s literature and in support of his postdoctoral project “Between Reading and Playing, Learning and Exploring: Video Games Based on Swedish-Language Children’s Literature 1990–2010.” The award ceremony will take place at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books after the summer. Each recipient receives SEK 113,000 and a diploma designed by artist Henning Trollbäck.
Jakob Olsson holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Karlstad University. He defended his doctoral thesis in the autumn of 2024, titled “Wired Children, Adult Networks, and Digital Tensions : Digitalisation and Media Skirmishes in Children’s and Young Adult Literature in Sweden 2000–2019”.
