Thomas Enger & Johana Gustawsson’s SON is shortlisted for Le Prix Cognac 2026. SON is the critically acclaimed first installment in the Kari Voss series, and it is one of seven titles shortlisted in the category “Best International Crime Fiction.”

Since 2006, Le Prix Cognac has been awarded yearly to an international crime novel. The winner will be announced on October 16.

Icelandic author Lilja Sigurðardóttir (b. 1972) is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and one of Iceland’s most successful crime writers. She is the author of the internationally bestselling Reykjavík Noir trilogy, the Áróra series and the standalone thrillers Betrayal and Alfa. Her books have been translated into nearly 20 languages and appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. Her work has received numerous awards and nominations, including the Icelandic Crime Fiction Award, the Glass Key Award and the CWA International Dagger.

Jonas Gardell’s musical Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves, based on the novel of the same title, has premiered to rave reviews in Sweden:

“Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves the musical is an emotional steamroller. It’s sex, love, friendship, laughter and endless sorrow, and an ode to those who walked the road before us, to the young souls that were taken by the frost. /…/ [It is] everything I had hoped it would be.”
-QX, Sweden

“Gardell’s classic shines as a musical. /…/ It’s a good-looking, funny, and moving tour de force, from start to finish. One can’t deny the feeling that Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves has been waiting for to be scaled up for the musical stage. Neither Gardell’s lyrics nor Fredrik Kempe’s compositions take any unnecessary detours – here the emotions materialize straight away.”
-Expressen, Sweden

“Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves [is] a musical with a fast beat and without a single dead second. Gardell’s lyrics are often catchy, at times truly exquisite, and are well matched by Fredrik Kempe’s grand compositions. /…/ A reminder is planted, both in the joyous rush of the first act and the tragedy of the second, of the fight: that none of our rights have been given for free, and that they can equally quickly be revoked. A call to remember.”
-Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

“Tissues are needed for Gardell’s musical. /…/ It’s been a long time since I last heard an audience sniffle so much.”
-Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden

“Gardell’s novel, now published in its entirety of almost 800 pages, cross-cuts in the same way. Masterful literary storytelling and powerful poetry project images into the mind of the reader. What can a musical version add? Closeness. We’re there, in the room, with Rasmus and Benjamin. Songs add power to emotions and carry the story forward.”
-Aftonbladet, Sweden

“A musical that is dark yet incredibly joyful and beautiful. Without a doubt, a new Swedish musical classic has been born.”
-Broadway World, Sweden

Jonas Gardell’s unforgettable epic, Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves, has been reincarnated as a musical, to premiere today. Celebrated song-writer and composer Fredrik Kempe has joined Gardell in reimagining the bestselling novel for the stage, and starring are some of Sweden’s most beloved musical stars: Ola Salo, Valdemar Wahlbeck, and Martin Stokke Mathiesen.

Anders de la Motte’s The Night Hunter is No. 4 on the official bestseller list in the Czech Republic. The Night Hunter is the fourth installment in the bestselling Leo Asker Series.

The jury for the 2026 Petrona Award has just revealed the shortlist for the ‘Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.’ Among the six nominees are Satu Rämö’s The Grave in the Ice and Antti Tuomainen’s The Winter Job.

The Judges have the following to say about each title:

“In a genre typically dominated by male leads, characters like Hildur flip the traditional detective-and-victim dynamic on its head, subverting conventional gender roles and expectations. These well-developed characters, combined with a fresh storyline, ensure The Grave in the Ice is a solid police procedural with genuine depth.”

“With an impressively precise control, The Winter Job combines humour in the narrative, with a harmonic balance between the dark, the absurd and the slightly slapstick, but never at the expense of the plot and characterisation.”

The winning title will be announced on 22 October 2026.

The Birkarls ruled Europe’s far north for hundreds of years, yet there are few traces of them in Swedish history. Even the word “birkarl” has faded from existence.

But the people of Norrbotten, as King Gustav Vasa called the remote region, did not live in an isolated wilderness beyond the reaches of society — quite the opposite. One of them was Birkarl Andreas Nicolai, vicar and court chaplain. He lived during the break between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, in the turbulent time that was the 16th century. An era plagued by war, bloodbaths, rebellions, civil wars, destroyed monasteries, and royal fratricide. He served at court, traveled far and wide, was involved in constant conflicts, and was one of the forces that governed the Swedish church, gradually acquiring a great fortune. Toward the end of his life, he contributed to the demarcation of the border with Russia – the one which today constitutes NATO’s eastern border.

The Birkarl is set at the court of King Gustav Vasa, and in Norrbotten, Finland, Estonia and by the Arctic Ocean. It is a vibrant and violent story that has never been told before. It is based on the life and work of Andreas Nicolai, and is the first novel in a series about the power struggles of the 16th century.

Maya is tired. Tired of constantly being expected to want to climb the career ladder, to want more, to grow, to become better. She just wants to be. To put in her hours and then go home.

When Maya is more or less forced to moderate a conference critical to the survival of her employer Origon, her friends see it as a golden opportunity for her to take the next step in her career. But something inside Maya begins to stir. And right there on stage, in front of hundreds of spectators and financiers, she loses it.

What happened to her little brother all those years ago, the guilt she’s carried since, the demands for success, mindfulness as the solution to everything, and the superficiality of almost all her relationships, can no longer be held at bay. All Maya can think about is if this is the moment when everything will come crashing down.

Bad Vibes balances humor with a poignant story of grief, guilt, and the journey towards forgiving those closest to you, and ultimately, yourself.