The main public support for writers is the Swedish Authors’ Fund. Originators of literary works (authors, translators, and illustrators) are compensated for lending in public libraries in accordance with the Government Statute on the Swedish Authors’ Fund (1962:652). The Fund allocates this government compensation. A portion of this compensation is given to the individual author in direct proportion to the number of public loans of his / her work, while another portion is transferred to the Swedish Authors’ Fund, which awards grants and scholarships in support of authors, translators, playwrights, and journalists in the field of arts. Since 1985, the size of government funds allocated to the Swedish Authors’ Fund, i.e., the Library Fee, is decided in agreements between, on the one hand, the government and, on the other hand, the Swedish Writers ‘Association, the Swedish Illustrators, and the Swedish Photographers’ Association. As of 2015, these agreements are negotiated biannually. In 2023, the agreement included temporary extra funding to compensate for the negative impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on library lending. The most recent negotiations were concluded in September 2025 and concerned library compensation for 2026 and 2027. The parties agreed on a basic amount of SEK 2.28 (an increase of SEK 0.08) for 2026, and then an unchanged SEK 2.28 for 2026. For 2026, this is estimated to amount to SEK 200,9 million in total. Negotiations about the basic amount of library compensation for the years 2028 and 2029 will begin in January 2027.
Press and media are supported by the government via the Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority, with the intention of promoting diversity in general news media on both the national and local level. This funding is distributed in two main forms of financial support: press support and media support. Media Support is aimed at all general media (including web-based media, printed newspapers, radio, and television) whose main purpose is to convey news. From January 1st, 2024, Media Support has been allocated in five areas:
- General editorial support
- Extended editorial support
- Distribution support
- Transitional support
- Support for daily newspaper distribution in case of mail delivery every second day.
The reformed media support is aimed to be neutral in relation to the type of media. For 2026, a total of 894 million SEK has been granted to applicants for media support.
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