Moa Herngren

Moa Herngren (b. 1969) is the Swedish author of the gripping and highly acclaimed relationship dramas The Mother-in-Law, The Divorce and The Inheritance. These page-turners have ignited heated debates in book clubs and living rooms across the country on which of their protagonists are most deserving of the reader’s sympathies. Herngren is also a journalist, former editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine and a highly sought-after manuscript writer. She is notably the co-creator and writer on Netflix hit-show Bonus Family and lead writer on Netflix hit Diary of a Ditched Girl. With her special affinity for the intricacies of complicated family dynamics and a high relatability factor permeating her work, she is undoubtedly the one to watch in her genre.

 

Awards

Shortlisted for Prix Pleine Vie (Best Novel) France – Skilsmässan The Divorce 2025
Shortlisted for The Storytel Awards (Best fiction) Sweden – Syskonfejden The Inheritance 2025
Shortlisted for Storytel Awards (Best Fiction) Finland – Skilsmässan The Divorce 2025
Shortlisted for the Storytel Awards (Best fiction) Sweden – Skilsmässan The Divorce 2023
Shortlisted for Book of the Year Award Sweden – Skilsmässan The Divorce 2022
Shortlisted for the Storytel Awards (Best Fiction) Sweden – Svärmodern The Mother-in-Law 2021
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Bibliography

Related news

Moa Herngren and Martin Widmark on the August bestseller lists

Moa Herngren’s just published The Fallout comes in at No. 4 on the official hardcover bestseller list of August in Sweden. Martin Widmark’s latest JerryMaya title, The Kidnapping Mystery, grabs the No. 2 spot on the children’s fiction list.

‘The Fallout’ No. 1 in Sweden

The Fallout, Moa Herngren’s just published novel about the dark sides of friendship, rockets to No. 1 on this week’s official bestseller list for hardcovers in Sweden.

New title: ‘The Fallout’

Karolin is finally back in control of her life. She’s gone through a divorce, secured a new apartment and is somewhat managing to make life work as a single parent. But when her mum suddenly ends up in hospital as well, it’s the final straw and Karolin realizes she’s in full crisis mode. Luckily she has got Saga to lean on, her very closest friend. Karolin and Saga have been inseparable since middle grade. Saga is much like a bonus child in Karolin’s family and the godmother of her daughter. But just as Karolin needs her friend the most, something has happened. Saga has met a new man and Karolin soon notices how Saga changes when she’s around him. How she seems to slip away from her. Isn’t he rather controlling? When Saga tells her that she and Jon are moving in together far from town, it comes as a shock to Karolin. Not only have things progressed so quickly, Saga has also made the decision without saying a word to Karolin.

Karolin tries to be happy for her. Tries to trust Saga’s judgment. Then out of the blue Saga severs her ties completely with Karolin – no explanation offered.

The Fallout is skillfully told from different perspectives, where both parties own their truth and experiences. It’s a psychologically perceptive novel about the dark sides to friendship: about loyalties, jealousy and betrayal – and what happens when your best friend dumps you without warning.

Anna-Lena Ahlström

Moa Herngren No. 3 in Iceland

Moa Herngren’s The Inheritance jumps straight to No. 3 on the official Icelandic bestseller list for the month of June. The list covers all genres and formats.

Moa Herngren No. 1 in Iceland

Moa Herngren’s The Inheritance is featured on Icelandic book retailer Penninn Eymundsson’s bestseller list. The novel takes the No. 1 spot on the paperback list and comes in at No. 2 on the overall list. Penninn Eymundsson is Iceland’s oldest and largest bookstore chain.

‘The Divorce’ nominated for the Prix Pleine Vie

Moa Herngren’s runaway bestseller The Divorce has been nominated for the French award Prix Pleine Vie 2025 in the fiction category. The accolade is bestowed by magazine Pleine Vie and once all the nominated works have been announced, a public vote will determine the winner.

The Swedish Storytel Awards 2025

The Swedish Storytel Awards of 2025 are now available and open for the public’s vote.

Among the nominated in the category Crime & Suspense are Lars Kepler with The Sleepwalker, Pascal Engman’s No Oneand Kristina Ohlsson with Beyond Rescue.

Moa Herngren’s The Inheritance is nominated in the Fiction category.

In the children’s category, nominees include Martin Widmark’s The Space Mystery and Tina Mackic’s The Summer Shadow and the Water Prank.

The winners will be announced at the Storytel Awards gala on March 19.

The Finnish Storytel Awards 2025

The voting is now open for this year’s Finnish Storytel Awards.

Among the nominated in the category Crime & Suspense are Anders de la Motte with The Mountain King, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir with Can’t Run, Can’t HideJo Nesbø with Blood Ties, and Lars Kepler with The Sleepwalker

Moa Herngren’s The Divorce is nominated in the Fiction category.

The winners will be announced at the Storytel Awards gala on March 13, 2025.

Moa Herngren and Jørn Lier Horst on the Finnish bestseller list

Moa Herngren’s bestselling title The Divorce is No. 2 in Finland across all formats this week, and No. 1 in the audiobook and e-book for translated fiction category. Meanwhile, Jørn Lier Horst’s When It Grows Dark comes in at No. 1 in the category for printed, translated books.

Nesbø and Herngren on the Norwegian bestseller list for June

Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties comes in at No.1 on the Norwegian bestseller list across all formats for the month of June, closely followed by its predecessor The Kingdom at No.2. Moa Herngren’s The Divorce meanwhile features at No.3.

Kristina Ohlsson and Moa Herngren on the Swedish bestseller list

Kristina Ohlsson’s latest installment in the August Strindberg series, Beyond Rescueis No. 2 in Sweden this week, which marks the book’s fourth consecutive week on the list. Meanwhile, Moa Herngren’s The Inheritancewhich was just published, sailed straight to No. 3 on the list.

‘The Inheritance’ published in Sweden

As three grieving siblings greet mourners at a funeral, it emerges two of them have filed serious police charges against the third. What has irrevocably torn this family apart?

In the wake of their father’s recent death, Ulrika, Andrea and Rasmus gather in the childhood home to celebrate their mother’s birthday and the remnant of the family struggle to re-establish their previously entrenched roles. Middle sister Andrea is keen to form the same tight-knit bond that her older sister Ulrika has always shared with their mother. It doesn’t seem to matter how much of an effort she makes, she still feels left out. Ulrika rather sees a little sister who’s had everything in life, been the apple of their father’s eye and always had her will be done – yet still never seem satisfied. Their much younger brother Rasmus has in turn lived his whole life in the shadow of his sister’s incessant fight for attention and validation.

When it emerges that several items mysteriously have gone missing from the childhood home, everything is brought to a head. Three vastly differing childhood experiences come to clash. But who really owns the narrative of a childhood? What focal events have some of them been kept in the dark about? Can you always trust your memories? And what do we truly owe our siblings?

The Inheritance is Moa Herngren’s third novel to skillfully and grippingly explore dramatic breakdowns of relationships from opposing perspectives.

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