Maj Sjöwall, our dear friend and beloved author, has passed away. Maj fought a lung disease for many years before losing the battle yesterday. The greatest pioneer of Scandinavian crime fiction and loved by readers across the globe, the world has lost a legend and a wonderful person. Our thoughts go out to her family and friends.
We will miss you so much, Maj. Your memory shall live forever.
Photo: Kiefer Lee
Jasper Lake has close to 20 years of experience from the TV industry, working mainly as producer and director. On the list of his numerous TV projects you will find Pluras Kök, Lyckliga gatan, Så mycket bättre and Klass 9A. He has won several awards including the RIA Producer Award for Lyckliga gatan and the Kristallen Award for Pluras kök.
In recent years, Lake has started moving more towards writing, building on and incorporating his aptitude for concepts and characters. In 2019, he graduated from the renowned Alma Löv Script Academy. As a screenwriter, Lake is especially drawn to drama and thriller, and stories about the friction that’s born between individuals and the collective.
Currently, Lake is working on his feature film Drakpojken and a TV series for Meter and Viaplay.
Fredrik Backman has honorably been selected as a recipient of the Helsingborg medal – the author’s hometown’s most prestigious award which is bestowed upon individuals who have contributed greatly towards the city. Previous winners include some well-known actors, journalists and politicians amongst others.
Stina Jackson and Anders Roslund have both been shortlisted for Bonnier’s Book Clubs’ Book of the Year Award 2020. Jackson is nominated for The Last Snow, and Roslund for Knock Knock.
Also known as the “People’s Choice Award,” the Book of the Year award is arranged annually by Bonnier’s Book Clubs, the home of Sweden’s five biggest book clubs. The winning title and author will be announced during the Gothenburg Book Fair, on September 25.
To see the list of the nominees and vote for your favorite, click “Read more” below.
The Times and the Sunday Times Crime Club have listed the forty best books of the past five years, and Antti Tuomainen and Yrsa Sigurdardóttir each grab a spot on the list. Sigurdardóttir (“The queen of Nordic crime”) does so with The Legacy, the novel that starts off her Freyja & Huldar series. The UK newspaper calls this first installment “an introductory murder that hikes the tension to cardiac-arrest levels. […] Icelandic noir at its reliably gripping best.” Tuomainen (“Scandi noir’s leading chucklemeister”) meanwhile receives an accolade for his humorous Little Siberia, populated by “a splendid cast of characters. /…/ Nordic lols.”
The second season of the successful TV series Rebecka Martinsson premieres today on C More and May 6 on TV4. Karin Arrhenius and Oskar Söderlund are head writers of this season, which is freely based on Åsa Larssons’s novels, and directed by Fredrik Edfeldt and Andrea Östlund.
Stina Jackson’s The Last Snow scores three No. 1 placements on the official Swedish bestseller lists for week 16. The Last Snow comes in first in hardcover, audio, and e-book. Jackson’s debut title The Silver Road also nabs a spot on the e-book list, coming in at No. 3. Anders de la Motte’s Rites of Spring can likewise be seen on three lists – the final installment in the Skåne Quartet is No. 2 in e-book, No. 3 in audio, and No. 5 in hardcover. Niklas Natt och Dag meanwhile features at No. 3 on the hardcover list with 1794. Finally, Katrine Engberg grabs No. 5 on the paperback list with The Tenant.
Smoke Screen, the second novel from the author duo Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger, is No. 1 in e-book on week 16’s official bestseller list for Norway. The title is also No. 3 in paperback. On the hardcover list, Jørn Lier Horst reprises his appearance, coming in at No. 7 with Operation Trickster, the seventeenth book in his and Hans Jørgen Sandnes’ Detective Agency No. 2 series. Not far behind at No. 9 is Anders de la Motte, with Rites of Spring. Lastly, Katrine Engberg features twice on the e-book list, first at No. 5 with The Tenant, and then at No. 10 with Blood Moon.
Netflix is making a new Swedish original film based on Mats Wahl’s novel Vinterviken, which was adapted into a successful feature film also in 1996.
Vinterviken 2021 is set in Stockholm, 2021, and focuses on the love story between two young people raised in the same city yet living light years apart, separated by economic, social, and cultural differences until they enter the same high school class.
The feature film will be produced by Filmlance International, with Teresa Alldén as producer and Alexis Almström as director. Dunja Vujovic serves as the screenwriter. The trio previously collaborated on Top Dog, a TV series based on the Jens Lapidus trilogy.
Sam Berger is a desperate man. His partner and lover, Molly Blom, has disappeared without a trace and he’s powerless to find her. In the midst of this turmoil, Sam receives an enigmatic but lucrative request. A woman, Nadja, has been kidnapped and her therapist is prepared to compensate Sam generously, provided he keeps the police out of the investigation. In his search for the missing woman, Sam finds a hidden gem and it dawns on him that Nadja may not be the only one who is in danger…
Freedom is Arne Dahl at his best – fast-paced, thrilling and full of surprises.
Lithuania, Lectio Divina
Three-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
Norway, Oktober
Closed by Federico Ambrosini
Türkiye, Dedalus
Two-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
Japan, Shinchosha
Closed by Emma Granberg
Bulgaria, Emas
Three-book deal closed by Emma Granberg
Estonia, Kids Press
Two-book deal closed by Linda Andersson
The Winter Job doesn’t rely on complex puzzles or elaborate reveals. Instead, it offers a gritty, atmospheric ride that probes desperation, survival and the cold logic of crime. Nordic noir that actually lives up to the moniker.
– Crime Fiction Lover
Mr Saito’s Traveling Cinema is a gripping tale with a wonderful mix of milieus, characters and events. (…) Delightfully beautiful reading in one of the best novels of the year.
– Melleruds Nyheter
An awesome debut with humor, warmth and magical illustrations.
– Tidningen Kulturvinden
Lisa Ridzén has written a beautiful novel. (…) A book every man should read.
– FNV Magazine
Perfect for both dog lovers and readers of tender human stories.
– Bookbub
Diamonds and Rust is a story about wounds that never heal, about envy, betrayal and revenge, and about a crime so well and thoroughly thought out that it may never be solved. Not unless Hanne Wilhelmsen gets a chance to try.