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The Mermaid Award
In conjunction with Gothenburg Book Fair’s 40th anniversary in 2024, the iconic symbol from the Book Fair logo became a literary award, called Sjöjungfrun in Swedish. The recipient of the very first “Mermaid Award” was the author Joyce Carol Oates. The Mermaird Award 2025 goes to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
“I am grateful for this award that recognizes my vocation, for that is what writing fiction has always been for me: a vocation, the defining center of my life. I am as moved by the rich literary symbolism of the mermaid as I am by the knowledge that my work has deeply touched Swedish readers,” says Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Previous Recipients
Award ceremony and motivation
The very first Mermaid Award was accepted by Joyce Carol Oates at a special seminar during Gothenburg Book Fair 2024, dedicated to honouring the author and her outstanding body of work. The award statement reads:
“She is a literary heavyweight, whose impressive output over six decades has challenged us with questions of violence, sexuality, ethnicity, and family. Her depictions of American dreams and nightmares serve as a universal map of modern human social issues and neuroses. At the same time, her greatest works contain the sometimes-overlooked ingredients that once made the old classics read: They are entertaining tales with stylishly crafted momentum. Sjöjungfrun (The Mermaid) 2024 is awarded to one of the greatest authors of our time – Joyce Carol Oates.”
The hand carved Mermaid Figurine
“This is the first [award] that is so exquisite – a kind of abstract mermaid: the essence of a mermaid rather than a literal one, as in H.C. Andersen’s tale. This is more like the spirit of a mermaid: an individual who happens to be a woman but is really a spiritual being”, said Joyce Carol Oates, commenting on the visual appearance of the Mermaid Award, hand carved by Swedish sculptor Panos Mamakos.
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