Nordisk Film’s screen adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s crime novel The Marco Effect, the fifth book from the Department Q series, is now shooting. There are high expectations for this new production, as each chapter of the saga topped the national box office, and the most recent film in the series became the highest-grossing Danish film to date.

The screenplay for The Marco Effect is written by Anders August and co-writer Thomas Porsager. Martin Zandvliet is directing and Ulrich Thomsen and Zaki Youssef star as buddy cops Carl Mørck and Assad.

The film centers on a 12-year-old homeless boy, Marco. Currently on the run, Marco is the key to uncovering a story of multinational embezzlement of government funds earmarked for development aid in Africa. As they race against the clock to find the boy, Carl Mørck and Assad find themselves face to face not only with cynical, powerful ringleaders, but also the brutal criminal gang on the hunt for Marco.

Monika Fagerholm has been bestowed with 2020’s Tollander Award for her latest novel, Who Killed Bambi?. The accolade is handed out by the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland and is widely regarded as the most prestigious literary award in the Finland-Swedish literary world.

The Society praises Fagerholm’s authorship as pioneering, stating that she has “renewed the language of fiction and has established new stylistic standards within the Swedish language sphere. Her works serve as a source of inspiration for above all young, female authors, both in Finland and internationally. In her latest novel Fagerholm highlights how violence devastates both its victims and perpetrators. With a distinct combination of intimacy and detachment, she makes visible the mutual dependencies of friendship, desire, competition and power.”

Matias Faldbakken has been shortlisted for the 2020 Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature, with his novel We Are Five. Since 1950, the prestigious prize has been annually awarded to a Norwegian author selected by the Norwegian Critics’ Association. We Are Five is one of four nominees for this year’s award, and the jury gives the following motivation:

‘We Are Five is a multifaceted novel. It ties in closely with Thure Erik Lund’s dystopian rural novels, while also presenting a grotesque Rapunzel narrative of sorts with biblical references. /…/ Faldbakken portrays the characters and the tragicomics of everyday life as distinctive as Carl Frode Tiller, with a narrative pace that give crime novels a run for their money, and a vivid and concise language. /…/ [We Are Five] is one of last year’s great reading experiences.’

The award ceremony will be held at the House of Literature in Oslo on March 5.

Deadline Hollywood reveals that Killing Eve producer Sid Gentle Films will adapt Arne Dahl's Watching You, the first installment in the Berger & Blom series, for the TV screen. The adaptation will be made by Vivienne Harvey, who has previously performed script work on Hulu's Harlots and Netflix's The Indian Detective.

In Dahl's Watching You, 15-year-old Ellen Savinger goes missing, and Detective Inspector Sam Berger fears that she has been taken by a serial killer. As he digs deeper into Ellen's missing person’s case, a story with sinister connections to Sam’s own life and past is unveiled. Soon the hunter becomes the hunted, and in the badlands the truth of a secret many want to keep hidden is awaiting discovery.

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NENT Group has announced the renewal of The Truth Will Out for a second season. The success crime drama series is based on an original idea by the award-winning author and criminologist Leif GW Persson, and is written by Aron Levander and Hans Jörnlind, who will both stay on as writers for the second season.

The new episodes will be directed by Kristian Petri and Daniel Di Grado. Robert Gustafsson and Ia Langhammer will continue in the roles of Peter Wendel and Barbro Svensson.

The Truth Will Out season two will premiere in early 2021 on Viaplay and later air on Swedish Channel 5 and Dplay.

Niklas Natt och Dag's debut novel The Wolf and the Watchman features in the top 10 of the Spanish bestseller lists for the second consecutive week, claiming the No. 4 spot on the Spanish fiction list, and No. 3 on the Catalan one.

Screenwriter Peter Smirnakos has a background in journalism, editing and copywriting. He is perhaps most well known as the co-founder of the several-times award-winning ICON Magazine, a publication focusing on in-depth portraits and feature journalism. ICON Magazine published the first ever cover interviews with Swedish superstars Tim “Avicii” Bergling and youtuber Felix “Pewdiepie” Kjellberg.

Smirnakos has studied journalism, philosophy, sociology and, most recently, screenwriting at the esteemed Alma Löv Script Academy, which he graduated in 2019. He currently has several projects in development.

Kristina Ohlsson’s The Mystery of the Haunted Fortress stays at No. 3 on the latest bestseller list for children’s book.

Jo Nesbø meanwhile shoots to No. 1 on the paperback list with Knife, the twelfth Harry Hole novel. Anne Holt meanwhile claims the No. 5 spot with A Grave for Two, the first installment in the Selma Falck series.

Sara Johnsen, writer of the lauded 22 July, emerged as the winner of the 2020 Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award for outstanding writing on a Nordic drama series. The jury statement reads: “Drama is a powerful tool that should be used wisely, especially when it comes to portraying stories inspired by real events. The jury was blown away by the brave approach to telling a story respectfully while still grasping its emotional core.”

22 July premiered on Norwegian NRK January 5, and became an immediate success among viewers and critics alike. The first episode is now available on SVT Play in Sweden.