The first Norwegian bestseller lists of 2019 see Lars Kepler’s Lazarus, the seventh Joona Linna book, at No. 2 on the ebook list and No. 3 on the hardcover one. Jørn Lier Horst’s The Innermost Room is No. 5 in paperback.

With the prize money amounting to one million SEK, the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film is one of the world’s biggest film prizes, and Johannes Nyholm’s Koko-di Koko-da is one of the ten films nominated for the award. Koko-di Koko-da, which will have its world premiere at the Sundance Festival, is about a couple who goes on a trip to reconnect, but end up encountering a sideshow artist and his shady entourage, who terrorize the couple and lure them into a maelstrom of psychological terror and humiliating slapstick.

Koko-di Koko-da is also competing at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, in their most prestigious section ‘Tiger Competition’.

The Smuggler’s Shack is a bonus volume in Norway’s most beloved crime fiction series for ages 9-12, CLUE. The story of Cecilia, Leo, Une and the dog Egon is concluded in this thirteenth and final book by bestselling Jørn Lier Horst.

The CLUE gang takes it upon themselves to investigate the mysterious Smuggler’s Shack out on Pinetree Island. Packing all the necessary supplies, the group heads off. But the visit to the island ends in failure and they’re unable to enter the shack itself. Its doors and windows have all been nailed shut and secured with heavy chains and padlocks. As they later review Leo’s film recording from the trip however, the group discovers something they didn’t notice while on the island. Something strange is definitely going on in the Smuggler’s Shack – and it’s up to them to return and find out what it is.

The official Swedish bestseller lists for the last three weeks of 2018 have been released, and though December month’s list is yet to come, some strong trends hint at what the last monthly list of the year will look like.

Beginning with the hardcover lists for week 50-52, we see Lars Kepler’s Lazarus come in at No. 1 for two weeks straight before it lands in second place in week 52. Lazarus also claims multiple No. 1 spots on the audio and e-book lists. Next on the hardcover list is Jonas Gardell’s In Memory of an Unconditional Love, which comes in at No. 3 for two weeks straight. It is closely followed by Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s A Higher Justice, which claims the No. 4 spot for two weeks before it jumps a placement to No. 3.

The undisputed queen of the paperback lists is Stina Jackson, whose The Silver Road comes in at No. 1 all three weeks. The Silver Road can also be seen coming in at No. 1 on the ebook list. Jo Nesbø’s Macbeth shoots to the top of the paperback list to join Jackson as well, coming in at No. 2 in week 51-52. Not far behind is Niklas Natt och Dag with The Wolf and the Watchman, No. 3 and then No. 4.

The nominees for 2018’s Storytel Awards (formerly known as the Grand Audiobook Prize) have been announced. The Swedish awards will as always be handed out in four categories: Fiction, Suspense, Young Adult, and Children’s.

Among those competing for the Fiction award are Niklas Natt och Dag with The Wolf and the Watchman, and Jonas Gardell with In Memory of an Unconditional Love.

The Suspense category’s shortlist features Lars Kepler for Lazarus, Stina Jackson with The Silver Road, and Anders Roslund with Three Hours.

Lastly, in the Children’s category, is Johan Theorin and The Battle for Salajak.

To vote for your favorite, click “Read more” below. The voting will close on January 20th.

The last week of December – and 2018 – saw Lars Kepler’s Lazarus once again claim the No. 1 positions on the official Norwegian bestseller lists for hardcover and ebooks. Jørn Lier Horst & Hans Jørgen Sandnes’s Operation Junk Thief climbed the hardcover list to finally land at No. 4. The No. 4 spot on the ebook list was also claimed by a Jørn Lier Horst title: The Innermost Room.

Lina Bengtsdotter (b. 1977) was raised in the small town of Gullspång, the setting of her lauded Charlie Lager series. She has a background in teaching within the fields of Swedish and Psychology and started off her literary career as a short story writer with works published in numerous newspapers in the Nordic countries.

Her full-length debut For the Missing landed her the 2017 Crimetime Specsavers Award for ‘Crime Debut of the Year’ in Sweden and established a cutting-edge authorship on the world stage, defined by well-crafted page-turner plotlines and captivating character portrayals.

Earlier this year, Bobbie Peers’ To Plant a Flag won the UR Award for ‘Best Short’ at Uppsala International Short Film Festival, Sweden’s premier short film festival. The applauded short then went on to play at the international film festivals of Winterthur, Toronto, Chicago, Warsaw, Hamptons, ZubrOFFka, Les Arcs and NexT.

To Plant a Flag will continue its world tour next year, screening at Australia’s leading international film festival Flickerfest and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the world’s premiere cinema event dedicated to short films.

The official Norwegian bestseller lists for week 50 (December 10-16) are out, and once more Lars Kepler and Jørn Lier Horst claim the No. 1 and No. 3 spots on the e-book list. Lars Kepler with Lazarus, and Jørn Lier Horst with The Innermost Room.