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.

This is the story of a group of friends in the 1980s who were family to one another in a time when no one else would be.

Just as they began to live and carry themselves with a smidgeon of pride, they start to fall ill and die in a new disease the newspapers name the Gay Plague.

It is a love that will cost them everything.

The story told in Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves is real. The love story of Rasmus and Benjamin is already a cult classic. It’s a dizzying, epic novel of a city and a time, about love and friendship in a universe to get lost in. Stepping out on the other side, you will never be the same.

For the first time ever, Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves is published in a merged edition, as its author Jonas Gardell had intended it to be read.

Established by Swedish magazine QX in 1999, the QX Awards are an annual event celebrating and awarding LGBT achievements. Jonas Gardell is the proud winner of the 2024 Novel of the Year award, which he receives for his latest title, Sissy.

July 29, 1971: Club Etoile opens its doors to what will be known as “Sweden’s biggest sissy-fest ever.” Taxi after taxi rolls by, dropping them off one by one: Kajsa, Betty, Rosa, Nana, Jeanette, Frances and the others – the ones derided even by other gays. For one night only, they own the world.

At the same time, across town in one of Stockholm’s sleepy suburbs, a little boy gets out of bed and looks through the window, towards the city. It’s as if he can hear the laughter. As if the city’s calling him.

Sissy is a bitchy, painful, funny, dark, and filmic tale about coming of age and of fems – then as now, among the most vulnerable of us all.

The nominees for 2022’s Adlibris Awards have been announced. Adlibris is the leading book retailer in the Nordics and the Adlibris Award was founded in 2019 to celebrate the site’s greatest titles. The 10 nominated titles in the 9 respective categories have been selected by a jury of Adlibris employees from all works published in 2022.

Ia Genberg’s The Details is shortlisted in the ’Fiction’ category.

Amongst the nominated titles in the ‘Crime Fiction’ category are Lars Kepler’s The Spider, Anders de la Motte & Måns Nilsson’s Death Goes Antiquing and Liza Marklund’s The Mire.

In the ‘Childrens’ category – Jonas Gardell’s The Story of the Little Sparrow is shortlisted for ‘Children’s 0-6’ and Martin Widmark’s The Masquerade Mystery is nominated for ‘Children’s 6-12’. Anders Hansen’s Brain Blues for Teens is nominated for the ‘Young Adult’ category.

The winners will be announced on January 25, 2023.

Jonas Gardell’s The Story of the Little Sparrow features at No. 1 and Martin Widmark’s The Great Summer Holiday Book comes in at No. 3 on the official list for children’s fiction in Sweden.

Anja Gatu’s The Cat Who Came In From The Cold features at No. 1 on the official list for children’s fiction in Sweden, followed by Jonas Gardell’s The Story of the Little Sparrow  which comes in at No. 2.

The nominees for the Swedish 2021 Storytel Awards have been announced. The Storytel Awards have been bestowed since 2007 in Sweden to highlight the best audio books of the year. The awards are granted within six categories: Suspense, Fiction, Non-fiction, Feelgood, YA, and Children’s books.

Among the nominees for suspense are Kristina Ohlsson’s Icebreaker, Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s As You Sow, Jens Lapidus’ The No-Go Zone, Anders de la Motte & Måns Nilsson’s A House to Die For, Liza Marklund’s The Polar Circle, and Anders Roslund’s Trust Me.

The nominees within the fiction category includes Fredrik Backman’s The Winners and Jonas Gardell’s A Happier Year, and Simona Ahrnstedt’s The Queen of the Night is featured on the Feelgood list.

Meanwhile, Anders Hansen’s Brain Blues and Måns Mosesson’s Tim – The Official Biography of Avicii features on the Non-fiction list, and David Sundin’s audiobook The Audiobook That Did Not Want To End – Part 2, from the same universe as The Book That Did Not Want To Be Read, is in the running for the Children’s books’ award.

Readers will be able to vote for their favorite works until February 9, after which a jury will pick a winner among the three candidates with the most votes in each category.

To cast your vote, click “Read more” below.

The nominees for 2021’s Adlibris Awards have been announced. Adlibris is the leading book retailer in the Nordics and the Adlibris Award was founded in 2019 to celebrate the site’s greatest titles. The 10 nominated titles in the 9 respective categories have been selected by a jury of Adlibris employees from all works published in 2021.

Fredrik Backman’s The Winners and Jonas Gardell’s A Happier Year are shortlisted in the ’Fiction’ category.

Amongst the nominated titles in the ‘Crime Fiction’ category are Niklas Natt och Dag’s 1795 and Liza Marklund’s The Polar Circle.

Måns Mosesson’s just published Tim – The official Biography of Avicii is nominated in the Non-fiction category.

Two titles by David Sundin are nominated in the ‘Childrens’ category – The Book That Really Did Not Want To Be Read is shortlisted for ‘Children’s 0-6’ while his upcoming Trollformler och besvärjelser is nominated for ‘Children’s 6-12’.

Fans have until December 8 to cast their votes in each respective category. The winners will be announced on January 25, 2022.

Click the “Read more” button below to cast your vote.

Photo credits: Kiefer Lee; Annika Marklund; Stellan Herner; Linnéa Jonasson Bernholm; Stefan Tell; Thron Ullberg

Jonas Gardell has been bestowed with Växjö Municipality’s Literature Prize in Pär Lagerkvist’s Memory 2021. The award was established in 2011 with the purpose of highlighting outstanding authorships in the spirit of Pär Lagerkvist and is handed out biannually. Gardell is praised with the following motivation: ”An authorship that with its strong anchoring in contemporary structures and historical roots alike, actualizes eternal fundamental moral issues and provides a voice to the vulnerable and those repeatedly rendered invisible.”

The award ceremony will take place on November 4th at the Växjö City Library.

Liza Marklund and Jo Nesbø divide the weekly lists’ No. 1 placements between them, with Marklund’s The Polar Circle coming in at No. 1 in audio and e-book and No. 2 in hardcover. Nesbø’s The Kingdom is No. 1 spot on the paperback list.

New on the lists are Jonas Gardell and Arne  Dahl, whose latest titles both debut in the hardcover category this week. Gardell’s A Happier Year does so at No. 4, and Dahl’s Meltdown at No. 5.