Considered the most prestigious in the nation, they are awarded annually in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and children's and youth literature.
[2] The award sum (as of 2022) is 30,000 euros (originally 100,000 Finnish Marks).
Prior to 2010 only works written by citizens of Finland were allowed but the rules were changed when Alexandra Salmela, a citizen of Slovakia, was nominated.
[3] Since 1984, in addition to the fiction category, the Little Finlandia Prize (Finnish: Pikku-Finlandia-palkinto) for the best student essay on literature has been administered by the Finnish Language Teachers’ Union in cooperation with the Finnish Book Foundation.
The Finlandia Prize in Children's and Youth Literature (formerly the Finlandia Junior Prize) is awarded for children's and youth literature.